February Post

It looks like once a month posting is my max, guys. Deal with it.
Now on to the good stuff!

People, this is what happens when I attempt to re-create Pinterest projects.

I found this little lovebirds-in-a-jar project while browsing Pinterest on my phone recently (something Ben will tell you takes up 85% of my day... I say 40% is more realistic):



I thought it was kind of creative and cute and not your usual run-of-the-mill Valentine's Day decor.
So, I tried to make my own (apology here for the lack-luster photo... I didn't even bother editing it):



Look closely... those birds look like they are sitting in their own goopy excrement. Just darling, isn't it?



Speaking of movements (hahaha!), Maggie joined the anti-bare-feet alliance and got herself (by unabashedly begging me) a sparkly pair of Toms, thereby donating a pair of new shoes to a child in need. (She was sure to emphasize that perk to Ben who wondered why she needed a pair of Toms in the first place. Of course, we all know that really she just wanted keep up with the smaller Boca crowd, who are- apparently- extremely benevolent...)



This purchase just continues to show that my children dress better than me... (free "gently used" pair of Chaco flip-flops that your husband found on the side of the road anyone???)

Ben and I have instigated "Saturday Morning Chores". I make Oscar do them in his undies.



New things that are happening this coming month that would be blog-worthy, but I'll probably be too lazy to blog about them:

We will (hopefully) be finding out soon if this baby is going to be of the male or female persuasion.

Ben put me on a strict cash-not-card budget. Boo.

Maggie is starting ballet.

I am finally potty-training Oscar.

p.s. If you, too, would like to attempt the "Lovebirds" project, go here. Theirs is waaaaay cuter than mine.

Whoooooooeeee!

That was a refreshing little unintentional blog break. My computer is still in a coma, so I use that as an excuse to not blog... but that's lame, right? I know. It is. But here I am to renew my efforts at blogging on a kind of sort of regular basis. Savvy? Here is what's going on in my life:


I still mother these:


My house still looks like this most days (except my toenail polish usually doesn't look that good):


I still live in a place where you can experience this:


I am growing this:

(Not my manic 5 year old son, although since I feed and water him perhaps I could say that I am "growing" him, too, but I was referring my protruding belly- 16 weeks pregnant...).

My Boys

This is pretty much a good representation of what my boys do on a daily basis. They are constant. ♥

Picture This

A week ago today I was driving home from a little vacation to Florida with my mom and these three muffin-heads. I've got some pictures from the trip and I'm planning on posting them here as soon as I download them from my phone/camera... but today I'm taking said muffin-heads to the Children's museum. Their favorite exhibit there? The one where you crawl through a model of the digestive tract starting by going through a mouth and ending down a slide into a toilet- sound effects included... no joke. We love science! (And all things bathroom related!)

Yawn

Is is just me, or has my blog been mega boooorrring as of late? And if that's the case, does that mean I've been mega boring as of late too? Yeesh, I hope not. Maybe I'd be more up to posting if the bambino growing in my womb didn't require me to sleep 10 + hours every night. 10 hours or more, guys. What the heck-fire? That's a lot of sleep. And I still manage to doze off anytime I sit for more than 5 minutos. Maybe I have malaria. Maybe I'm narcoleptic. Maybe I should have stopped at 3 kids. I'm not sure what the answer is here, but whatever the case may be I might have to start drinking again (Coca-cola, guys, not the hard stuff). Things to ponder...

On to a funny anecdote: the other day the whole family was driving around in the car enjoying a lazy Mississippi sunday. The guy in the car behind us was in a much bigger hurry than we, and was leaving a 1/2 inch cushion between our bumpers. I was getting a little perturbed and asked Ben, "What is the deal with this guy following so close?" Maggie piped up in the backseat "yeah, he'd better stop following us or we're going to give him some crap!" Heh heh, road rage anyone? I don't know where she gets it. Serious.

Oh, and here's a little p.s. Perhaps you noticed in that last paragraph that I mentioned we were enjoying a lazy Mississippi sunday. Perhaps you thought it should have read lazy Louisiana sunday. Well, here is the deal with that. We are not going to be in Louisiana at all this summer, as it turns out. Instead we will be enjoying our time in the states of Mississippi and Alabama. Am I bummed? A bit. But such is this line of work. We just go where the big boss tells us to. Alright. I'm off to dip my head in an ice cold bucket of water, drink down some stimulants and do something exciting! Crazy! Fun! Or maybe I'll just go take a nap...

On this very day

last year, I was sending Maggie off to her pre-school with a bag full of home made little Valentine's. They weren't too fancy, but she helped make them and she loved handing them out to all her little friends. This year all of us are home sick. Cash is missing his Valentine's party today (we dropped off some store bought Valentine's at his school- no home made cut out hearts this year, no siree. Thank you Hello Kitty and Spider-Man for saving the day). We'll see if Maggie is feeling better by Monday when she has her class party. This cold of mine has almost lasted me a full week. Blech. My poor kids have been neglected for most of that time (Ben stayed home on Tuesday so he, I mean, I could sleep all day, so they got real food and diaper changes on Tuesday.) Maggie has been my little helper, bringing me glasses of water and brushing my hair. Right now she's "reading" a dinosaur book to her little brothers (who are supposed to be napping). I just heard her say, "With their big huge teeth, bigger than sharks, moving side by side, and their well-made eyes like bees nests, these dinosaurs are bigger than this house and very scary and meaner than volcanoes and probably were waiting for humans to pet them (they didn't know humans weren't alive yet) so they could bite them."

At least while I'm sitting here in my misery, my kids are getting a quality education.

Maggie's Valentine's: 2010

p.s. I just realized that most people have colds and can still function, but I'm telling you people, this has been the head cold from HELL. I am reminiscent of the swine flu of 2009, that's how crappy this cold has been. So before you get all on my case saying things like, "c'mon Kat, it's a COLD for crying out loud, what is up with that? You are seriously the biggest boob EVER", just know that this is no ordinary cold. It's a cold on steroids. Okay, now you can judge.

Play Broom Broom Now?

On Wednesdays and Fridays, Maggie and Cash are both at school and so for an hour and a half (or thereabouts) Oscar gets some one on one time with yours truly. And a lot of the time he wants to play "Broom Broom". For those of you that need a translation there, that's Cars.

And yes, Oscar is still wearing his PJ's. He rarely changes out of them until closer to lunch time. (p.s. Neither do I).

scenic drive

thismorning i threw the kiddos in the car & headed up the canyon for a drive... very impromptu, but fun (well, until maggie got a little bored in the backseat & decided to make her own scenery by drawing on the headrest in front of her with a pen... sigh). but let's let bygones be bygones, right? back to our drive:

one thing is for sure... if ben & i ever do leave utah (not that we're planning on it!) i will very much miss these mountains...

Check Lists

I am a chronic list-maker. Every morning (or night, before I go to bed) I make a list of all the things I'd like to have done at the end of the day. It's usually pretty ridiculously long and contains a lot of items that even I know won't get checked off by the end of the week, let alone the end of the day. But I make lists anyways. Bonus points if the lists are on pretty paper. And then I get a nice healthy dose of defeat when I realize that the day is done and maybe one or two things have been checked off my list. So I take the list from my previous day, re-write if for the following day, add a few more items and doze off with the goal to finish my entire list. Repeat scenario.

So, guess what? I'm going to start making my list during the course of my day. It will be my reality check list.

Here's mine so far for today:

Change the sheets on Cash's bed (because he wet it. again.) Check!

Bathe the kids because while I was putting said sheets into the washer, they were playing a game called "Wipe your jam-covered toast in your hair". Check!

Clean up 11 (yes, ELEVEN) eggs off the kitchen floor. Check!

Re-plant the pot of herbs that Oscar ripped out. Check!

Clean up the powdered cheese from a box of mac 'n' cheese that Cash was trying to "help" me make for lunch (powdered cheese has a way of floating through the air and coating everything in orange). Check!

Now, if I can just get Maggie out the door to school, and the boys down for naps, I could have a good solid hour and a half to work on my other list:

Clean the bathrooms
Vacuum entire house
Fold laundry
Weed garden
Make a batch of home made yogurt
Write and mail Mother's Day cards
Clean out and wash the car
Wipe out kitchen cupboards/drawers
Sew quilt for Maggie's bed
Make new pillow covers for couch throw pillows
etc.
etc.
etc.

And that doesn't even start to touch my "Life Goals" list, which includes lofty aspirations such as:

Learn a second language
Run a half marathon
Write/Illustrate a children's book
Learn to play the guitar or harp (or both!)
Go on a Humanitarian vacation
Own Chickens




Sheesh, thinking about all that makes me tired. Maybe I'll go take a nap, myself... I can make a new list for tomorrow- I have an awful lot of pretty paper.

Minis

The other day I decided to make hamburgers for dinner (I was craving something off the grill). But alas, my hamburger patties shrank (a lot) whilst cooking on the bbq. What to do? Well, we took a cookie cutter to the hamburger buns and had mini hamburgers! And what goes better with mini burgers than mini chocolate shakes? De-lish.




Also, please meet the newest addition to our family, Curly. He had a near death experience this morning after Oscar knocked his fishbowl off the table and onto the floor. As Curly went gracefully sliding across the kitchen floor, Maggie and Cash about went into hysterics because their beloved fish was dying. Dying right before their very (innocent) eyes.

Oscar proudly watched as the commotion unfolded before him.

Curly was rescued and within minutes was returned to his fish bowl (which, luckily, had not broken). As the older children's cries slowly subsided Oscar found a marker to decorate the kitchen cabinets and when the marker was confiscated he entertained himself by dumping out half the fish food. Eek! This fish was supposed to be step one of our slow transition into being a pet-owning family. Now I'm thinking Frank was probably not all that bad (oh wait, I just remembered that fish don't have to be housebroken...). Tune in next week to see if cats are the only species to have cornered the market on the 9 lives thing...

Things I'm Currently Loving...

Avocados with salt and lemon. My mom sent me a bunch of avocados (& lemons) off her tree and they are delicious.

Oscar cuddling. You sit on the floor. He plops himself on your lap. Every time. Also, he loves books.

Oscar's kisses. This is a new trick. And I'm in love with it. Big, mouthy, drooly Oscar kisses are the bomb. Come over to my house and get yours today. (Added bonus: he has a runny nose which adds a bit of danger to the mix and makes the whole experience more exhilarating).

Taking the kids sledding. They are old enough to have fun but young enough that we only last about an hour.


(Poor Oscar only lasts like 3 minutes, but then he just lays down and takes a break & we have more fun because now there's an obstacle to try and miss with the sleds.)


Oscar's Snowsuit... "I can't put my arms down!" Love it.

Hello Twenty-Ten!

{our family on temple square, salt lake, december 2009}

So here we are in the new year...I have pretty much had a headache for all of it. Sometimes I get these fun little headaches that last several days. So since January 1st I've been lounging around in pajamas and watching my home fall into a state of disarray (which puts Ben into a state of crazy... he's a little bit ADD). But just think of how much fun I'm going to have organizing and cleaning when this headache leaves me! Fun squared, that's what it's gonna be.

So, to recap my New Year so far: pain, pills, and pajamas, Papa Murphy's, piles of laundry, and perturbed husband. Help me.

p.s. Reading this book gets my cleaning juices flowing:

Aw yeah! Tips on removing laundry stains, cleaning duvets, dusting, kitchen maintenance. Gets you all hot and bothered to clean your house. And be all house-wifey...

Conversations

Cash (wielding his play foam sword): Mom this is my awesome glass sword.
Me: Glass?
Cash: Yeah, mom. It's made of glass.
Me: Swords aren't made of glass, hun. They're made of metal.
Cash: Uh, mom? Jesus made my sword out of glass.

(How do you argue with that, right?)

---------

Me: Hey kids... today we're going to decorate the house for CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Kids: Woo-hoo!!! (lot's of screaming, dancing around, jumping, high-fiving).

Me: Cash, what are we doing today?

Cash: Um. I don't know. But I'm excited.

---------
p.s. We gave Frank up for adoption. And my life is back to a normal level of daily chaos. He is now living with some friends of my sister's in California. And I'm sure he's very happy. I think we'll move into this pet thing in baby steps. Step one: Ivy plant.

Hot Dog

Here's another picture of Frank. He's a Jack Russell terrier and as of yesterday is 7 weeks old. After some serious "I'm gonna lose it" moments the past few days (including calling the breeder on the off-chance he might let us do a return- he said no...) I'm kind of liking having a dog today. The kids aren't constantly insisting he sit on their laps, he's getting used to our home so he's not constantly underfoot, and I guess I'm just plain getting used to him. Can you blame me? He is awfully cute. (Just some one please tell me that the teething stage does eventually end...). Anyways, we'll be enrolling him in plenty of obedience/doggy socialization classes once we get back from our Thanksgiving vacation. So we are now dog owners, I guess. Unless anyone out there wants a 7 week old puppy? Hmmm? It's like having a toddler for 15 years! (shudder).

Chez Moi

I hesitate to put any pictures up of our current residence for fear that we may move soon, as has happened in the past. That being said, we have no immediate plans to move and so I'm posting pictures. This is for ma famille.











Maggie & Cash's Room: {I still need to make some bedding for both of them... but my sewing machine is currently out-of-order...}

Can you spot the sleeping child?

Oscar's Room:

Look for the baby...

And for the very anti-climactic ending... my room {yawn}. It definitely needs some attention paid to it.


Other things my home could use:
Dining room table and chairs
Bookshelves
New bath towels