I mean really... REALLY??

I will preface this by saying that I don't have any illusions that I will win a 'Mother of The Year' award anytime soon...

So, the other day, I am snoozing on the couch as the girls were outside playing on the porch with some other kids (see beginning note). Little E comes in and tells me that Hannah needs a phone wherever she goes and then asks if she can have mine. I immediately say 'No', but then ask if she needs to call someone. Hannah calls her mom, and the mom tells her that if it starts to thunder and lightning, to come home or go inside our house. E tells me this and then asks if it's OK for the kids to come in the house. I shake the groggy-ness off enough to say, 'Wait, what are you asking me? You want them to come inside and play right now?' Yes... exactly.

OK, so I have seen these kids around the neighborhood and know their names and the girls have spent several hours playing with them, but I have never once seen or met their parents. To me, that is kind of one of the prerequisites of entrance to someone's household. I would never let my kids go to anyone's house that I had never met, let alone stay there for several hours. Am I alone here? And the fact that the six year old boy has a note in his pocket that has his name, address and phone number on it... while I will give kudos to the parents for having the foresight to include that nugget... to me, is just wrong.

I mean really... REALLY?? How is it OK that your are in my house?

For more funny, funny stories, visit my friend Patty's blog: I mean really really

Blogidity Blog Blah Blah Blah

OK, I have been absolutely horrible about blogging. But I don't need to tell you that... if any of you are even here anymore. I will try to get better, but I am not making any promises.

My great friend Amy got me addicted to Facebook so that's where I have been spending a lot of my time. If you want more frequent updates, come join me over there. In the meantime, here's what we've been up to.

We've been really, really, really, really busy.

For those that don't know, E received IA orders to Afghanistan. And for those that don't know, IA stands for 'Individual Augmentation'. Basically, he is a Navy man that will be going Army. He leaves the end of this month for training in Kansas for 3 months and then heads to Afghanistan for 350 days to be an embedded training mentor. Total days gone: 438. Sweet!

We decided to move into military housing in our area. We have lots of friends in the neighborhood, a huge park in our front yard and lots and lots of kids for the girls to play with. We packed up our huge house and moved ourselves down the street. I take that back, we didn't really move ourselves. A fabulous man from E's office coordinated a moving party for us. 17 people from the office showed up at 8 AM and had us unloaded by 11 AM. The amount of support that we were offered was overwhelming. I almost cried. I am so thankful for this life and the wonderful people that we have met along the way.

The kids are doing great and continue to learn, change and provide us with endless laughs and frustration.

Little e participated in her first Daisy Girl Scout cookie sale. I volunteered to be the troops' cookie mom. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought that I would be that, but it was fun and I will do it again next year. Little e has also lost her second tooth, got a new hairdo (pictures coming soon), learned how to ride her bike without training wheels, jumped several levels in reading, has had strep (and given it to us) 4 times and still continues to be our sweet girl.

Our tiny terror KK is still just that. She never sits still for a minute and has started sneaking into our bed at night more and more. She has stopped going to her Tuesday school and then started again. It's a love/hate thing with her. She learned how to swing on her own (hallelujah!), she dresses herself several times a day in fabulous ensembles, rarely eats, no longer wears pull-ups at night and is the best cuddler in the world.

I have signed myself up for the Marine Corps Marathon for this coming October but have only run once since the last one. Oops. I did sell my double jogging stroller and bought a new single, so hopefully KK and I can get some good runs in. In true me form, I started a juice pouch recycling program at little e's school but it shouldn't take up too much of my time. Famous last words, right? Other than that, I am just trying to stay on top of things, maybe make dinner every now and then and maintain a positive attitude.

Big E's last day of work will be this Thursday and then we head down to Disney World with our good friends for some much needed fun time. After, L&L are coming this way for a few days.

Alright, KK just told me that I have been on the computer all day, so I should probably wrap this up. Keep us in your thoughts and I will try to keep up with this so you all know what's going on with us.

Litte E is the Winner!!

She pulled out her wiggly tooth this morning. She is so excited!! And she won the loose tooth contest that I posted about a while back.

So, what the going rate for a tooth these days?

Random Thought Friday

So, early today, I was looking up movie times on the internet.  It got me thinking about back in the day when you had to call the theaters to listen to the pre-recorded times.  Does anyone else remember that?  When you would call, you would inevitably get the end of the recording and you had to call back again and hope that you would get it at the beginning.  It took several calls to get the times of the movie you wanted to see.  Man, I love technology.

We're Suckers

Meet Yoshi... the girls' early Christmas present.

The KK Khronicles, Part Deux

Kids says the darnedest things and Super K is no exception.  If you missed my first installment, click here .

On politics...

While playing with her doll, a political ad was on TV.

KK: "Here Daddy, Barack Obamaca makes my baby cry."

While scratching her bottom and listening to news coverage on the election...

Daddy: "KK, what are you doing?"

KK: "John McCain makes my butt itch and he makes me tired."

On losing her mermaid doll...

KK: "Where's my stinkin' mermaid doll??"

On potty training...

KK: "What a big girl am I.  High 5 Girlfriend!" 

Little e also makes us laugh...  

While I was getting ready, she came into the bathroom to use the potty.  I told her about our plans for her day off which included a trip to Build-A-Bear and going to see High School Musical 3.  The news made her "toot".

e: "(laughing) I was so excited, I blew!!"

We Did It!!!

Big E and I ran the 33rd Marine Corps Marathon in DC on Sunday... and finished! I had no doubt that E would finish, I was more worried about me. I had been battling a nasty cold, complete with uncontrollable coughing when I would breathe out and my knees and heel had been bothering me. E's original thought of running the marathon together lasted until about mile 7 where he decided that running with me hurt... I take absolutely no offense to that since I am way slower than him. Anyway...

Big E finished in 4:12 and I finished in 4:56... woohoo! I beat 5 hours and E beat Oprah!! It's very surreal to have it over with. Months of training seemed to be over in a flash. The girls (especially KK) are glad that we are done training... she hated when we would leave to go run.

So, what's next? Who knows. Definitely not running for a little while. I still hurt. Will there be another marathon in our future?? I can't say.

Lots of Things Come With Training...

for a marathon. Like, sore knees and legs, lots of sweating, and this:

Last night, this little guy started following me on my run. He ran next to me and in the road and when I reached the main road with a 45 mph speed limit, he was still with me. I was able to grab him to see if he had any identification... nope. So we walked down to the local wine shop to borrow a phone to call E. He and the girls came to pick us up and we searched for his owners to no avail. So, he came home with us. Sophie and the girls loved playing with him.

This morning, we took him to the vet to see if he had a microchip... and thankfully, he did. They called the owner and I spoke with him and offered to drop 'Jack' off. He was very happy to have him back. When the owner opened the door to go back inside, Jack escaped again. He was able to chase him down so Jack is now back home, safe and sound for the time being.

Pierre Von Gobble

Seriously, that's his name.

When I dropped little e off at school yesterday, the school nurse who got her out of the car (they have curbside service there) asked if we had seen the turkey.  It turns out, Pierre is one of the teachers' pets (heehee... teachers pet) and she brought it to school so the kids could see a turkey up close and personal.

KK and I decided to investigate.

I have never seen a turkey that close and he was really friendly.  We were able to pet his head and touch his feathers.  The head of a turkey is strangely soft and fuzzy and squishy.

KK was intrigued by his wiggle belly button... uhm, nose thing.

After school, we stopped by to see Pierre one last time and get a picture of little e with her newest friend.

Don't you wish your kids' school had a pet turkey too?

Wanna Bet??

We have two loose and wiggly teeth in our household.

One of little e's baby teeth is loose. She is so excited. When we went to the dentist in April, the dentist told her that she was going to lose a tooth soon. She took that literally and has been telling everyone since then that she is going to lose a tooth. When one actually started wiggling, she was beside herself. The loose one is on the bottom, left of center.

If you remember, KK did battle with the cement last year and chipped one of her front teeth. When I took her to the dentist in April when it started to discolor, they took x-rays and said that she would probably lose it by the summer since the roots were dying.

So, the question is, who is going to lose the first tooth? We're taking bets... which girl will be the first to lose a tooth and when??

I pray that it is little e, because man, how can a little sister beat you to that accomplishment??

Adventures in Potty Training Part 4 & The KK Khronicles

Ahhh, potty training. One of my most hated parts about child rearing. We have decided to take a rather lax approach with KK since it was so frustrating with little e. The second time around has been interesting and definitely much more enjoyable. If you need to catch up, read all the other potty training posts here .

So, head strong KK has moved into big girl panties but is very opinionated about which panties she will be wearing. She does have accidents every now and then, but I have not bought diapers or pull-ups since the end of July. Yippee!!

We have also had some very interesting conversations with her while potty training. Hence, The KK Khronicles.

Before heading out to Tae Kwon Do...
me: 'Do you need to go potty?'

KK: 'NO THANK YOU!!!' (at least she has manners)

Me: 'You need to go potty before we leave'

KK: 'Sure, whatever'


After an accident...
KK: 'I absolutely peed in my panties... my lemonade made me do it'


Picking out princess pull-ups...
KK: 'I found Jasmine!! Those, I want those!'

me: 'You like Princess Jasmine?'

KK: 'Yeah... I wish we could go at A Taste of Monterey and see Jasmine... I miss her.'

me: 'Me too'

KK: 'Did she used to be your friend?'

me: 'She still is my friend'

KK: 'Is she my friend too?'

me: 'yes'

(Side note: to all my ATOM friends... miss you all and hope all is well.)

Have a great Wednesday!

Sweet Serenity Tuesday

Yes, I know it's Wednesday and I should probably be cleaning, or doing laundry, or figuring out something for dinner, or... well, you get the picture. But I thought I would take this rare moment of quiet to let you know about my great day yesterday.

It started out a little hectic since Big E and I both ran 3 miles in the morning... he went first and then I went with the dog (ugh!). Sophie is not the fastest or most focused runner, but she hangs in there so she can take a dip in the bay half way through.

Anyway, Big E and little e are now carpool buddies since her bus stop is on the base and he drops her off on his way to work... great daddy and daughter bonding time. After sending them on their way, I hopped into the shower and got myself and KK ready and dropped her off at her school. Well, it's not really school. More of a kids day out/mommys morning out program that she goes to once a week from 9-3:30 (hallelujah). I know it sounds awful, but to be kid free for 6 hours is just what the doctor ordered.

I had a little time to spare before I had to be at little e's school to volunteer in her classroom. (I know, a free day... and how do I spend it?). I figured it was the least I could do and she was really excited for me to be there. I was in charge of the art station where the kids made their faces on paper plates and added yarn hair. I have to say, there are quite a few abstract artists in the class. After stations were over, I joined e for lunch in the cafeteria. It was quite a different atmosphere than at her previous school (S, you can vouch for that). Smaller school/classes make for way less chaos.

So stomach grumbling, I said my goodbyes and stopped to get lunch at my favorite fast food addiction joint, McDonalds. At least I was by myself... Big E will be happy with that. He HATES fast food and the fact that the girls even know what McDonalds is. I have vices, what can I say?

Then, it was off to get my watch battery replaced, roam through JoAnn Fabrics for a while, a trip to BJ's to get some bulk Crystal Light, then to Old Navy for some returns and browsing, more browsing at Ross and then back home. Whilst at home, I organized the girls closet and hung up hooks in the toy room for their dress up outfits. Then I headed to the commissary for one more stop of sans free kid shopping. I was in and out in less than 30 minutes and got everything I needed... and nothing that I didn't. After, I picked up KK at school and went to get e at the bus stop.

When we got home, I brought the girls upstairs to see the new enhancements made to the toy room. They stayed up there playing for a good hour and a half... no screaming or fighting or tattle tale-ing. I was able to unload all of the groceries and organize them, thaw something for dinner and cut up loads of vegetables for dinner and snacking.

After dinner, we headed to a local ice cream place to celebrate little e's first full week of school. e decided she wanted a quart or pint of double chocolate chunk ice cream, but we got her a small bowl instead. KK got an ice cream cone bigger than her but enjoyed it.

We ended the night with a bubble tub (my turn), where no one got yelled at, stories, and both of the girls willingly going to bed with neither of them exiting the room once.

So, there you have it. It may not sound like much, but it was a great button reset day. I feel like a whole different person. I was much more patient with them yesterday and today and am definitely looking forward to next week. It may make me look like a bad mom to be so thrilled with a day away from my kids... But, there really is something to be said for being able to stop several places and not have to buckle and unbuckle kids, hold their hands so they don't get run over in a parking lot, scoping out the nearest bathroom for the accident prone one who's potty training, not constantly saying 'hands off, don't touch' and worry about lunch and nap time, yadda yadda yadda.

Here's to days of feeling non-mom like and not feeling guilty for it!! Hope you all are able to enjoy those few and far between zen-like moments.

Kindergarten, Part 2

Today was little e's first day of Kindergarten... again. If you remember, she started Kindergarten when we were in California since she met the age cut-off there. We debated and went back and forth over the decision to re-start her and after today, we are so at ease with our decision.

Although there is an elementary school, literally in our backyard, we put little e's name into the lottery for the new charter school in the area and were lucky enough to get a spot. The waiting list for the school is huge. They follow all of the state education guidelines, but are free to create their own curriculum. The focus is on community, development of self, creativity through arts and music... they even do organic gardening.

And the best part... uniforms!!!

...although one is able to express their self through their Hanna Montana bookbag.

She wore her necklace that her CA boyfriend gave her for good luck.

Little sisters are so much fun!

Dad took time out of his busy day to join us for a treasure hunt through the school to get us all acquainted with the layout.

At the end of the treasure hunt, one of the teachers read the kids the book, "The Kissing Hand", which is a great story about a raccoon that is scared to go to school.

And last, but not least, there is a new "K" in our life... here on out referred to as BFFK. Not more than 5 minutes of being in the classroom, little e and BFFK were holding hands. I think they had met previously at one of my friends houses. Her teacher told me that they were inseparable today which is great since they will be riding the bus together next week. What a perfect way to alleviate her bus fears.

When I picked little e up, she was all smiles and said that she loved her new school. Nothing better than that...

What We Need

My friend Amy did this on her blog and thought it was fun, so decided to do it for us.

How it works: type your name and 'needs' after it in a google search, and list the top 10 results.

1. K needs more people for her to relate to and so she can finally have a friend (yeah, probably).
2. K needs coffee (don't drink it, so I should maybe take the suggestion).
3. K needs to get her head out of her elbow (huh??).
4. K needs you.
5. K needs to cut her hair (Sukanda here I come).
6. K needs to learn that everyone is replaceable.
7. K needs to do something about her top front angly-weird teeth (um, I think my Mayo Clinic orthodontic work is just fine).
8. K needs to move to New York (OK, see ya MD).
9. K needs attention.
10. K needs to quit one of her jobs (No problem... one family on the auction block, takers??).

1. E needs to complete the game.
2. E needs Christine in his life (ummm.... who's Christine?).
3. E needs to come home (he's spending way too much time with this Christine girl).
4. E needs to speedily retract and denounce his earlier comments on the subject.
5. E needs to work (definitely).
6. E needs cable (true... DirecTV is on his last nerve).
7. E needs his woman (that's right... take that Christine!).
8. E needs a girl (nope... #7 answered that).
9. E needs some buddies.
10. E needs to wear hearing aides in both ears (I've always said that he's deaf).

1. e needs a loving new home (this one is horrible).
2. e needs sunglasses NOW!
3. e needs squares (what??).
4. e needs a drink (no... that would be what I need).
5. e needs to break her spell.
6. e needs to paint, paint, paint (perfect for our artistic girl).
7. e needs cancer treatment (thankfully, no).
8. e needs it most (needs what the most?).
9. e needs chun (yeah, I have no idea).
10. e needs a vacation (again, that would be me).

1. KK needs a special venue for musical, theater performances (I would pay money for that).
2. KK needs to face reality.
3. KK needs to stay (put, in one place without running everywhere like a crazy child).
4. KK needs more attention (like you can ignore her).
5. KK needs no one.
6. KK needs more residential high-rises (I'll take a cut of her profits).
7. KK needs to post the trailer on www.mmorpg.com .
8. KK needs one incorporator (I would like to see what kind of business deal she's up to).
9. KK needs curly hair.
10. KK needs no further mention (perfect).

Happy 1 Year Anniversary...

to my blog!! I am a little late and had to look back at the archives to see when I actually started this whole thing. August 1, 2007.

My, time has flown by since I have been blogging, and more recently, not blogging. Hopefully when school starts, things will settle down a little bit and I will be able to devote more time to blogging. I truly enjoy catching everyone up with what we are up to and I appreciate that all of you stop by to read.

So, new years blog resolution... blog more. There you have it.

Thanks for reading!! K

Ketchup, Part 2

I figured I would take this rare opportunity while KK is still sleeping (day 2 in a row that she has slept past 6:30) to post something quick.

Marine Corps Marathon here we come!!

E had already decided a while ago that he was going to run the marathon. Then, while over at a friends house, I met a girl that lives a few houses down from us... she was looking for a running partner and we figured out that our pace was pretty close. And then, she asked if I wanted to run the marathon with her and my few glasses of wine spoke up and said, 'I'd love to!!' I'm not sure why or how I thought it would be a good idea to run a marathon since I had never run more than 3 miles in my life but I am going to attempt to.

We are currently in week 7 of our 18 week training program. The marathon is Sunday, October 26th at some horribly early time... so if any friends or family want to come out and watch the kids, let us know!!

We'll keep you posted as it gets closer and give you our bib numbers so you can keep track of us online.

Wish us luck!

Catastro-Wii

Always, always, ALWAYS wear the wrist strap....

Now accepting donations for the 'replace our plasma' fund.

Ketchup, Part 1

When I was in school we used to have "catch-up" days and I always thought it was so funny to have "ketchup" days... and apparently, I still do. Silly.

Anyway, since I have been so lax about blogging for a while, we are going to need to go way back to May. That is when little e tested for her yellow belt in Tae Kwon Do.

Here she is focusing and getting ready to recite the 10 rules of Tae Kwon Do... such concentration.
Warming up with punches.
Master Shim...
who is apparently rolling in the dough judging by the sheer numbers of people that come through the doors of the academy... and the brand new studio that is nicer than many houses I have seen. (Check out the look on the little boy's face who is next to him... priceless).

Little e tested on a Saturday, but had to wait until Monday to see if she had passed.

Drum roll please...




Was there any doubt?

I love how proud she is when she reaches a new level.
And of course, the congratulatory hand shakes from the black belts.
Congratulations big girl!!

We're Alive!!

Yes, we are still alive and kicking and I have a lot of catching up to do.

I have been all out of sorts for the past couple of months and finally feel like I have things under control. It's amazing how changes in routine can really throw you off. Summer break has been crazy and I don't know what I am doing half the time. Add in a 3000+ square foot home and two extremely active and social children... well then you really have no time to do anything but clean and entertain.

I plan to post lots about our goings-on over the past 2 months and our fun filled MN vacation but tonight, I am too tired to do anything more than this pathetic post. Today I watched a friends girls, ages 3 & 6, and had all 4 kids in the pool at the same time. What the heck is wrong with me?

Talk with you soon!

Things That Get Yer Goat

OK, we've been busy... very busy. I was actually scolded by my mother the other day for not posting. Sorry Mom. We are heading to MN for our annual vacation tomorrow and I promise that I will catch up then.

In the meantime...

We live a stones throw away from an elementary school and while sitting out on our deck at night, we often hear people throwing their trash in the schools dumpsters. Really... seriously?? You only have to drive a mile to get to the public trash dumping facility. How much is it costing the tax payers for you to dump your trash in a public schools dumpster? Come on now people...

Yes, random, but that's what got us tonight.

Wish us safe travels and wi-fi at the hotel so I can update ya'll on everything that we've been up to.