Adventures in Cooking

The kids love to help, the Mom in me loves the idea of them helping. The type A personality in my does not love it so much, but we do it anyway! This week the project was Pizza - a crowd favorite. Keira really loved kneading the dough. She wanted to eat it right there - I think she thought it would taste like cookie dough. Mallory's favorite part was eating the toppings. I would hand her a pepporoni and instead of putting it on the pizza, she would put it in her mouth. She thought it was hilarious!

Mallory to the left super excited about the pizza. Below she is stealing a pepporoni!

B

Our next cooking club fun will be Grandma's birthday cake - I am sure that there will be good pictures of that!

How did we go from

<----------------this

to this --------------->

so quickly??

One of those things you hear about a million billion times when you are pregnant or have recently had a baby is "Enjoy them now, they grow up so quickly". And you don't listen. Because everyone says it. And you don't really want anyone's advice anyway. And really, it's just something people say, right?!? Well, I am hear to tell you for the million billion and 1 times ... it really does go by fast, really really fast, like crazy fast. Enjoy them now!

Today was the first day of school. We were up early (Mal is teething, such fun), and Keira was ready to put her school clothes on at about 6:30 am. From then on, every 5 minutes, is it time to go to the bus stop yet? Is it time now? How long is 30 minutes? Is that long? Seriously kid, you are taking the fun out of the day. But we did, at last, make it to the bus stop. She was so excited, she practically ran on to the bus. She sat with her friend Haley and they waved to us from the window as the bus was pulling away. And then the water works began. Life will never be the same. It was the end of an era. No more tuesday morning trips to the park, no more thursday lunches at chick-fil-a. Don't get me wrong ... I know this is the beginning of something new and great, but I am not quite ready to embrace it yet. Too busy remembering all the fun we had.

She came home still excited, but tired and hungry. She had a great first day, didn't get lost finding her way to the classroom. Best part of her day was lunch, followed closely by recess. We hope to get more details soon, but she was pretty tight lipped with what actually went on in the classroom. But we heard no complaints.

Mal fared pretty well. She kept asking where "KK" was, I would tell her that she was at school and then Mal would ask me Why? and we would go round and round ... eventually she would drop it and we'd find something else to do. She didn't better than I thought she would.

I wallowed in sadness for about half the day and then kept myself busy to bus pick up time.

Tomorrow is day 2 ... hopefully it will be easier tomorrow!

Tomorrow is D day

So this was it... our last bit of freedom. School starts tomorrow. The last 3 days have been filled with lots of fun. Sadly, none of it caught on camera as I just forgot to bring the darn thing. We went to The Incredible Pizza Company on sunday. It is basically a big chuck e cheese. They get you though because you HAVE to order pizza there to go in -- it is a buffet. So we walk in the door, we got there right when it opened. And their registers weren't up yet, so they let us eat for free! Y'all know I love free! So that made the experience even better. We ate, we played games, and (Keira's favorite part) got to pick out prizes from the tickets she won. Thankfully, she chose another stuffed animal ... because you know, we don't have enough of those laying around ;) And for whatever reason, anytime she brings home one of these crappy stuffed animals, Peanut thinks they are toys for her and chases Keira around mercilessly until she has to hide the toy away. Weird, right?

Monday, we spent at the zoo. It was an excellent trip. First, we hadn't been since early June because it has been so so hot. Second, the weather was awesome. It was really cloudy and the temperature didn't get above 80 degrees the entire time we were there. Third, we got to see the Hippos! This is always the girls favorite part and the Hippos weren't out last time. They have this big enclosure where you can see the Hippos swim - the girls watched for about 20 minutes! It really is cool. We rode the carousel, ate Popsicles, and got blisters on our feet from walking so much (I got over 9,000 steps at the zoo!). Fun Fun Fun.

Tuesday we went out to lunch, Keira's choice. Which was (of course) McDonald's. Mmmm, yum. Insert sarcasm here. But it was her day, so we went and loved it. We were supposed to have a playdate with a friend from preschool, but her brother broke his leg and had to get it set, so we had to cancel. And then we were going to go to the park, but it rained. So we went ot the play area at the mall and met another friend to play. Then we went and had frozen yogurt at the new Orange Leaf place. It was cool. The girls really loved the chairs and the yogurt too! It is a self serve place and you even get to put your own toppings on. Keira choose gummy bears and M&Ms on her orange flavored frozen yogurt. Glad I wasn't sharing with her. It is sort of an interesting study in marketing there - they charge by the ounce, and again it is all self-serve, and they only have one size of cup - and it is super large. So if you fill it up, you are going to have an expensive bowl of yogurt. Anyway, just something I thought was interesting. Also, the spoons are extremely well made - not the flimsy plastic that most places have. Seems like a waste to me. I know, I need a job or something right?!?

Then we came home for baths and stories and bedtime. Aunt Suzie and Uncle Ryan bought Keira the book "The Night Before Kindergarten" so that was tonight's pick. A cute story.

Check back tomorrow for pictures of Keira on her first day as well as an update on my emotional state ;)

Just something I read

An elderly Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life ... He said to them, "A fight is going on inside of me, it is a terrible fight, a fight between two wolves. One wolf is evil - he is fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, competition, superiority and ego. The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you and inside every other person too."

They thought about this for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win, Grandfather?"

The elder simply replied, "The one you feed".

This is what I get

Sometimes, you trust your kids too much. Wade and I were upstairs this weekend in Mallory's room putting together a new bookcase. The kids were running around, but finally landed in the basement to play. I checked on them periodically, they were playing nicely and relatively quietly ... so I startd spacing out the checking on them ... and this is what I get ...

Thankfully, it was washable marker. And it didn't get anywhere but on them. Keira got the bright idea that they could be green smurfs. Awesome. Just another day in the life. :)

D E N I A L

It ain't just a river in Egypt!

Full Day Kindergarten is coming, whether I like it or not Keira went to the Doctor today and got all her immunizations updated -- and then was treated to some ice cream afterward - I mean, seriously, getting 4 shots without so much as a tear warrants ice cream, right?!? We got a letter in the mail today about orientation and a phone call yesterday about what bus she is on and when it will pick her up. The train is moving forward and I need to get on it.

Keira is ready. She already knows over 100 sight words and can read some of the beginners books. She is becoming quite the mathematician as well - randomly coming up to me during the day and saying "Hey Mom, 9 minus 5 is 4" Alrighty then, it sure is. She is constantly looking for something more to do. another project to create, something else to explore. She will do great.

But I am sad to be losing my baby all day. She gets on the bus at 7:50 am and won't get off the bus until about 3:45 pm. Talk about cutting the apron strings. Our weekday outings are over for the most part. I already feel guilty about even thinking about taking Mallory to the zoo without Keira. Is that weird? I just don't like the thought of her missing out. But she will be having her own experiences, making new friends, learning new things, taking cool field trips - lots of things that Mal and I won't get to do. I am so excited for her to have all this stuff to look forward to .... just gotta get over the blues that my first is growing up!

Herding Cats

Trying to get a picture with 6 kids age 5 an under, is, well, like herding cats .... nearly impossible. Below are a few of our attempts.

In front of the arch ... Mal was having no part of it.

At the City Garden, only Keira looking at the camera.

Missing a child here.

The guys trying to get the kids into position. Didn't have much luck.

Hey, look, all the kids in this one! Should have zoomed in, but the darn sun behind them was in the way.

Two, maybe three trying to escape ... several of the older ones trying to hang on to them.

We've got a runner!

What we have been up to ...

We have been crazy crazy crazy for a few weeks. My MIL came in and we went to key west. We got home on a saturday night, and then the girls and I left on tuesday and drove to Kansas to see old friends. We had a great time - Keira got to go to VBS with Lexi, Mal made Frankie fall in love with her and we all got to spend some time in the neighborhood pool! It was a great time and the 4 hour drive by myself with the kids in the car really wasn't horrendous. i was really sorta freaking out about it, but it really wasn't bad at all. Totally do-able. Watch out Indy friends we may be on our way!

We left kansas on Thursday afternoon and on Friday afternoon had friends from Ohio stop by to visit. Valerie, her husband Kevin and their 4 munchkins (ages 5, 3, and 17 month old twins). Keira and their oldest were "baby friends" when we lived in Ohio. Sadly, the girls don't remember each other anymore, but the moms have fond memories of the girls playing together. We hit the Magic House on saturday morning. Always fun. Keira's favorite this time was playing library. Mal loved to fish. Sunday morning we headed downtown and hit the bubblers at the sculpture park and then headed over to see the arch. The Gerbus' took their crew all the way up! We passed - both Wade and I have been up before and that little egg they put you in, well, is not my favorite thing. And it gets stuck like twice a week - I would totally freak. We'll wait till the girls are a little bit older before heading up again! Then we spent the afternoon outside - finally - it has been so hot here that we had not been outside in over a week. The kids got to run run run and play in the water - it was great! Sadly, the heat has returned :( The Gerbus' then headed off on Sunday night on their way to a wedding in Denver.

Pictures to come ...

Greetings from Key West

Thanks to my fabulous mother in law, Wade and I were able to sneak away on our annual (without the kids) get away this week. We had such an awesome time in Key West last year that we decided to go back. We stayed at the same place -- Southermost on the Beach. Such a wonderful place. Great room, great views. It is quite a long, hot walk to the other end of Duval where all the "action" is, but it allowed us to work off some of the food and booze and get all our steps for Wade's work competition. The above picture was taken during a bike tour that we took. It is apparently what the Key West Tourism department uses for their advertising. And yes, you read that right, bike tour. It was literally 105 degrees, but hey, we are on vacation, who doesn't want to sweat profusely on vacation. ha. It was neat to learn about the history of the island and see some things we hadn't already seen. And we got to ride Key Lime colored bikes. And eat key lime pie at the end of the tour. Yum.

Wade at the Top of the Conch. It is a bar at the top of the La Concha Hotel. Tallest building in Key West. Super awesome views, overpriced crappy drinks.

Our dollar stapled to a palm tree at Willy T's. There are thousands of them stapled all of the bar. Thousands. Ours says HH + WH 2011 - it looks like WA, but it's not.

The most stolen sign in Key West, mile marker zero. Ignore that we are covered in sweat. Just ignore it. This was also part of the hot bike tour.

Wade and I on the steps of a house that Jimmy Buffett used to own/live in.

The view from our balcony. Aaaaahhhhhhh.

This was "our spot" at the hotel. In the sand and in the shade. Did I mention it was 105 degrees? Just checking.

One of our favorite events ... Turtle races at Turtle Kraals. The literally race turtles on this table. Too fun. And I won $20 Turtle Bucks to pay down our bar tab. Awesome.

We did lots of other stuff, but I am out of patience with the photo uploader on this thing. Let's see, we did a Wind and Wine sunset sail. It was pretty cool -- there were 9 different wines to taste and plenty of appetizers. We sailed for about two and a half hours just enjoying the water. There was a street fair type thing one night with live music a local band called Howard Livingston and Mile Marker 24 played. Definitely Jimmy Buffett-esque. Loved it. Hit a great dueling piano bar, spent time at Irish Kevin's, ate at Blue Heaven twice, saw lots of wild chickens, had some Hog Fish.

Great time was had by all.

Now off to Kansas.

What do I even say about this picture?

I used to think we were excellent parents. Keira is such a nice, polite, well behaved little girl. She says please and thank you, doesn't throw fits, asks to be excused from the table when she is finished, etc etc etc. And then there is Mallory. This child, well, she just looks for trouble. In the past week, we have removed her from the dryer, the bathroom sink, and the kitchen table. Places Keira would never have dreamed of going. She has learned the word MINE already and likes to throw the "throw yourself on the ground and scream" type of fits when she doesn't get her way ... again, Keira would never have done this and is quite embarrassed when Mallory does. Join the club, kid. So apparently, sometimes, parenting requires some work ... personally, I prefer the self-policing model we got with our first ;) So Mallory is a work in progress. Since she idolizes her big sister, so we are hoping Keira rubs off on her ... quickly!

Chicago

We hit the big city this weekend ... sadly for only about 24 hours though. Little Miss Kendall was baptized this weekend and we are (very honored to be) her godparents so we went up for the ceremony. The girls were just dying to see not only Kendall, but Uncle Ryan and Aunt Suzie too. And Spike - of course. I did not get a single good picture of the kids together - I thought it was hard to get two - impossible to get all three smiling and looking at the camera. This one was as good as it got.

Mallory is in that "I LOVE Babies" stage. She was very interested in Kendall. I think she is trying to give her a kiss here.

We hit the Lincoln Park zoo - the girls loved it, of course. We traveled there using public transportation - wasn't that Green and Frugal of us???


I thought this was a GREAT picture! Well, Ryan could use a smile, but the girls sure look nice!

Mallory's first taste of popcorn. She loved it, so much so that she demanded to hold the container. At one point, she put her entire face in it. Love it!

Kendall completely co-operated for the baptism, no screaming involved. :) I'll post some pics of that in the future - didn't get any with my camera. It was a long ride home, but well worth the trip. Wish they lived closer!

Magic House

Surely I have posted about the Magic House before ... but even so, it is so fun that it bears mentioning again. Magic House is basically St. Louis' children's museum. The kids really really love it. Keira claims all the parts are her favorite. She loves the static ball, the section that has a the grocery store/library/bank/etc, there is an area to learn about magnets that Mal really liked ... I could go on and on. Oh and another favorite is the creative studio in the basement where the kids get to paint and do a craft to take home - also Keira's favorite - especially since she now wants to be an artist when she grows up (changed from "Nature Girl" about a month ago!). We got to go to the Magic House with some good friends that came to visit from Kansas City. Keira thinks it is neat that we have friends all over - I think it's neat too -- except for that fact that I would rather have them all live next door ... who is up for some communal living?? Anyone ... Anyone ... ????

Static Ball - Keira loves it! It makes for great pictures.

Malzy was actually flirting with an employee that was outside of camera range. Pretty cute.


Keira was totally into the hospital nursery - for about 5 minutes she wanted to be a doctor. Then she changed her mind to mechanic (see below).

Nascar pit crew anyone?

Random side tucked away in the museum. There are several, one is several stories high with glass windows so you can watch them go down.

Thank Goodness for Water

It's been hot hot hot here and we've spent every afternoon (and some mornings) in the backyard lately, that is, when it's not raining and there isn't a tornado warning making me crazy. As a SAHM, I am not sure what I would do without the backyard kiddie pool, sprinkler and slip and slide. The girls can play for hours back there. Here are a few recent pictures.

My big girl ... she is going to be taller than me by third grade, I think.

Look at those curls!


Mallory loves the water table. I mean seriously LOVES the water table. This will keep her attention for a very long time. Today she was using it to search for treasure ... rocks!

Mallory has entered that stage where it is extremely difficult to get pictures of her. She says cheese and smiles, but rarely looks at the camera. So you'll have to take what you can get for awhile.

After about 7,000 tries, this was the best I got of the two of them together. Grrr....

Dance Recital Videos

Ok - so I couldn't figure out how to make them smaller, so I uploaded to you tube. You have to click on this link to see them, you can't search and find them. They are each about 2 minutes long. Keira is the second from the right in both videos. So cute!

Tap Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2vh6bJggmU

Ballet Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJfGrj5_FdU

Apparently I fell off the wagon

I was soo good with posting or awhile (unlike some regular readers of this blog ... you know who you are!) and then, well, I just forgot. Thank you to one nice reader for kindly reminding me to get on it! :) So, let's see ... oh yes, Keira's dance recital. It was just so, absolutely adorable. They held it at the local community college. They did two routines. A tap and a ballet. The costumes were fabulous. Hot pink and silver. Keira did very well. For the most part, she knew both routines. At this age, they still have their teacher standing up front, directing them. It was pretty cute in the tap routine because the girl standing next to Keira watched her the whole time for the moves. I've got a few pictures below ... the video is a bit to big to post, but I am working on that!

I made these as a little treat for the girls, aren't they cute??!!??

Keira all dressed up and ready to go. The hands on the hips are all hers - she is a bit sassy (but in a good way! :)



Another "pose" all her own.

Keira tip toeing (I am sure there is some ballet term for whatever they are doing, but I don't know what it is) off stage. Keira is second from the end. Yes, she is tall for her age.

My other little princess - wants to be all dressed up, just like her idol, big sister!

More on these to come ...

Crazy Weekend

We had lots and lots and lots going on this weekend. One of those things was Keira's last soccer game. The Queen Bees had a great season and I really liked the coach. He really focused on helping the girls get better. They had their medal ceremony and got some great treats too.

What can I say ... she's her mother's daughter ... she loves her some cupcakes!

Giving the coach a High Five after receiving her medal.


Go Queen Bees!

Treats I made for the girls ... Cute little water bottles I found at Michael's for $0.80 and then filled with sugar cookies with yellow frosting for the Queen Bees!

Cardinals Game

We decided to pack the kids up and head to the cardinals game on monday. It was hot hot hot. But thankfully, our seats were in the shade, so we weren't miserable! The stadium was really nice and had a great view of the arch. We made it 5 innings before we had fussy kids, so I was pretty impressed. :)

The view from our seats. Pretty neat I thought.

They mow an arch into the field ... sadly it took me almost 2 innings to even notice.

No baseball game would be complete without ice cream in a helmet!

Malzy trying to hide her cotton candy because she thought Daddy was going to get it!

Peanuts: The reason we made it as long as we did! Mallory became obsessed with them. (and yes, I know they are a choking hazard, but she was watch closely). At first, I was shelling them and them biting them and giving her half a nut at a time. She didn't care for that routine. So she took the bag and did it herself. Put the shell half in her mouth to crack it and bite it. She spit out the shell part and then shook the peanut out and ate it. It took about 5 minutes per peanut. Kept her busy for a very long time - she was very determined!


I took about 30 pictures ... none had all 3 looking at the camera.

It was definitely no Cubs game, but we had a lot of fun and enjoyed seeing more of St. Louis.