Nature Kids

Monday the kids decided they wanted to take a "treasure walk" around the neighborhood so we leashed up the dogs, grabbed treasure bags and headed out.

A "treasure walk" could also be known as a "nature walk" but in the case of my kids, they like to search for all sorts of treasures; be it a broken toy, an interesting piece of trash or whatever. It is not, however, to be confused with a "trash walk" which we also take. Those involve trash bags and gloves and we pick up trash along our walking route.

Anyway....off we went on our treasure walk. The kids found leaves, sticks, rocks and branches. They also found a broken toy, a broken jewel case and a few leaves from fake flowers. It was a *very* successful walk.

Back home they set about washing the things that could be washed.

Then Kaylen ran off to her room and returned with a shirt and fleece pants. She then asked if I would help her make a "Nature Scout Uniform" just like Ruby's Bunny Scout Uniform. (For those not in the know: Ruby is the big sister bunny on Max and Ruby, a Nick, Jr. TV show.)

I went to my room and retrieved a container of safety pins and set about putting her nature treasures on her shirt. She was beside herself with joy.

Once it was done we carefully slipped the shirt over her head and she proudly wore her uniform for the next few hours.

You just have to admire her creativity, don't you? :)

What a Cute Little Kitty

Last Wednesday I walked into the living room to find a cute little kitty had moved in with us.




Are you finished admiring her sweetness? Oh good - then let me just say that she used her brother's non-washable marker. Did you giggle a little? Yeah - me too. But then let's go one step further: the next day was the scheduled appointment to have the photo of both kids with me taken.

Now remember: non-washable. Red.

Ugh.

I, of course, had to get a photo first. And then out came the cloth for scrubbing. I managed to make them all but disappear on her face but the ones on her legs? I'm just glad you can't see her legs in the photo. :)

Meow.

Beautiful Sunshine

The other day I was swimming in things to do when a sweet little voice said "Mom? I know how you can have some fun right now. How 'bout taking picture of me outside."

Personally, I think this was just her way of getting me to go outside with her on a crisp, beautiful February day. Still - I was happy to take the camera out and snap some shots of my beautiful sunshine girl. Next time perhaps I will remember to check the lens for small finger prints. :)

Appetizers and a Movie

The kids are asleep and we are going to be settling in to watch a movie soon. Right now Dakota is happily working in the kitchen making a couple of different appetizers. They are, after all, the best part of any meal. :)

The smell of bacon fills the air - Yum! She is making potato skins and mushroom snacks (two of my very favorite things!) and she is making plenty! I have a feeling after eating everything tonight I will be looking for a good weight loss pill! Oh well - I'm sure I'm not the only one after all the chocolate and goodies that accompany Valentines Day! :)

100 Days of School

Kelton came home with a bunch of homework for his 4 days weekend and among all the papers was the assignment to make a display of some sort to mark the 100th Day of School, which is this coming Wednesday. I noticed last year that schools really have come to embrace what they call a "milestone". I'm not sure I would call it that but whatever. Maybe some day someone will explain the significance of this mark. Is it akin to "the first 100 days in office"? :)

Anyway - Kelton's assignment was to come up with a collection of things totaling 100. It could be stickers, pennies, marshmallows, etc. The choice was his to make.

We talked it over and he hit upon what I think was a great idea - 100 pictures of Kelton. As a group, all the photos have a common link; Kelton is in each and every one.

This morning I ran out and picked up a small photo book that holds exactly 100 photos and then Kelton and I got down the business. I pulled out photo albums, starting with Kelton's birth, and Kelton went through them all (and there were a LOT of albums!) and carefully selected 100 photos. Well - to be fair, we had 2002 to February 2005 in real photos and 2005 to current in digital on the computer because yes, I am terrible about printing out hard copies of photos. I'm not even sure where we would put more photo albums. I have years of photos on an external hard drive so I loaded what we needed on a flash drive and then printed out.

He selected quite a few from his first year but he had strict requirements: no naked pictures, no diaper only pictures and no pictures of him with his binky. A tall order to be sure.

We did it though and the finished book is something he is very proud of. I think it was a clever 100 Day Collection - and I hope his teacher will too.


(This is the cover page I made for the book. I think it's pretty fun. :) )

We Know How to Rock Valentines Day!

After Dakota finished studying today we decided to take our Valentine Celebration on the road. The kids really wanted to go to McDonald's for their special treat so we headed there (oh yeah - we know how to party!). Sadly, the play area was locked up so they didn't get to play but they still had a good time. We even hit the Red Box on the way out. Gotta love movies for a $1.00.

After an early meal, we headed out to Fred Meyer (think Kroger's for those of you not in this area) to return a dress that Dakota's sister had given Kaylen for her birthday. Kaylen had deemed the dress "too itchy" and there is no point keeping something she will never wear. Luckily, Dakota's sister was already in the know about Kaylen's sensory issues surrounding clothes so she handed us the receipt at Kaylen's birthday party.

We found a dress that passed Kaylen's inspection (and yes, that includes trying it on and wearing it for a bit to make sure it's acceptable) and all was right with the world.

We decided to look around for a while because who doesn't like to look at rows of toys and tv stands? :) The kids had a great time just being out and about. A nice way to spend a Valentines Day evening. Life sure changes once you have kids. :)

Through the Years

This tradition got started without my even knowing. When Kelton was a year and a half he and I went in and had some photos taken. I loved the one of him on my back so it's the one we bought. The next year I was pregnant with Kaylen and I wanted a photo to mark Kelton and I together alone and we ended up with the same post because it was easy and looked good.

Then Kaylen was born and the day after her first "stop breathing" episode I had a primal need to document the three of us together. So - we went in and Kelton remembered hanging on my back and wanted to do that. It worked. And it has continued to work through the years.

We went in this morning for our annual photo and when I was putting it in the frame the stack of years gone by was waiting for me. I thought I would post and share them. I can't tell you how these photos fill my heart.

My babies and me.

Kelton (20 months)

Kelton (2.5years)

Kelton (3.5 years )
Kaylen (11 months)

Kelton (4.5 years)
Kaylen (2 years)

Kelton (5.5 years)
Kaylen (3 years)

And now...this years:

Kelton (6.5 years)
Kaylen (4 years)

This is a pose Kelton wanted. It didn't turn out half bad....of the kids. :)

Kaylen's Birthday Dinner

Sorry to leave you all hanging there but I have been a bit scattered and short on time. Blogging was something I could postpone without anything falling apart so it took the hit for me. I'm sure you all know how that goes sometimes. Anyway - I'm going to do a little back track to catch you up.

Kaylen's real birthday was Tuesday and since it was a study night for Dakota (meaning no classes but instead she spends those hours that she would be in class studying) she had planned to come home so we could take the birthday girl out for dinner. The weather had other plans though - we woke to snow falling! As you probably remember, Dakota works on the top of a very big hill so she opted to work from home. I had a big Book Fair meeting that I had to get to so instead of Kaylen going to a friends house for the morning, she stayed home with Dakota. I went ahead with plans for Kelton to go to his morning day care situation (a dear friend has a day care nearby and she had offered to watch him and get him off to school on the bus that comes by her house) because he had really been looking forward to being "a day care kid" for a day and he was so sad at the thought of not being able to.

Fast forward to the end of the day and it was time to The Birthday Girl out to dinner. She chose Red Robin (no surprise there) so off we went! We had a good time and since pictures speak louder than words....here are a few shots of the evening.

The next set is just to show you how much fun it is trying to get a decent picture of Kaylen these days. OY! She is definitely well ensconced in the Land of Being Four. Give me patience!

Seriously. Need I say more?

This is when the Red Robin staff was singing to her. She wanted to like it but she really wasn't all that sure. Not that I blame her - it is weird for me as an adult, I can only imagine how it feels when you are a mere 4 years old.

But the singing was worth it! :)
She kept shoving spoonfuls at me and I have to say it was good! Anyone know where I can get some cheap diet pills ? :)

All in all - I think it's safe to say that she had a good day - and she definitely had a good dinner. :)

Is it just me?

Is it just me or are other people noticing that in the midst of the financial meltdown going on in the country the cost of living continues to steadily increase? It's the obvious things like food and housewares but this month when I sat down to pay bills I read notices on the garbage and electric bill that the rates went up effective January 1st. Our auto insurance renewed this month and we saw an increase of $1.50 a month there, too.

What is going on? When people are struggling so hard in the country and every week more jobs are lost and more houses enter foreclosure I'm just wondering who is sitting in offices thinking "Hey - I know - let's increase rates!"

Yeah yeah - utility rate increases are usually years in the making but when the saw the state of the country sliding ever downward wouldn't it have been a nice idea to put it on hold for just a bit and see what happens? I'm not sure they are coming out money ahead with the increases because to me it seems like they just made it harder for more people to pay their bills.

I don't know - I don't pretend to know how it all works but I think the timing of the increases could have been thought out a bit more.

I'm just saying.

Last of the Three's

Tonight, when I put Miss Kaylen to bed, I said "Guess what? You're going to bed as a three year old but guess what you're waking up as?" She screamed happily "A FOUR YEAR OLD!"

Yes it's true. Today was the last day I will ever have a child who is three years old. I survived, and loved, the three's twice...and I am here to tell the tale. :)

I still can't believe she is going to be four tomorrow. When the clock strikes 11:50AM my baby girl will have been on the earth for four whole years. I can tell you what happened that day from the moment I opened my eyes until the moment I closed them that night. When I woke I had a baby still safely inside me and when I closed my eyes at the end of the day, I had a baby in the NICU on oxygen, IV, heart monitors and antibiotics. How far we've come from that day that started out so happy moved through terrifying and then settled into scary.

My sweet baby girl,
Happy Birthday to you, Kaylen Lane - what an amazing little person you are. You have rocked my world since the day the stick turned pink. You are a much wanted dream come true and the world is lucky to have you and I am luckier still. You might have been resistant to being here in the first place but now that you are here you are making a place, and a name, for yourself. You are a beautiful little sole and I love you so very much.
Love,
Mommy

Your Birth Day

This is how I first saw you.

Day two

Finally holding you.

First Birthday

Second Birthday:

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

And oh my gosh - watch this. This was 5 days after she turned two and she is so freaking cute I could gobble her up !!!


Third Birthday

And Fourth Birthday

Snowfall?

Oh my goodness - what a day! I am sitting here at 7:46pm with my head still spinning with all I have done and all there is yet to do. The biggest thing is a workshop tomorrow morning to learn all about the Book Fair. It's a regional meeting with lots of people scheduled to attend. And get this - they are now predicting snow in the morning.

SNOW?!?!?! Of all the days in the past two weeks and in the future two weeks this could not have been predicted for a worse day. For the first time ever I am hoping they are wrong....or at least hoping that it arrives later than the 5AM time frame they are saying. Noon would be good. I would be almost home by then.

So on top of being stressed out about - oh everything....I get to worry about snowfall for the morning hours. Lovely.

Tomorrow just may be another day when I wish I had diet pills to keep the hunger pangs at bay so I can get all I need to get done done without having to worry about eating. Of course, I would still have to get lunch for children so I guess that wouldn't help much....but then again...if diet pills gave me energy.... *grin*

Wish me luck for my day tomorrow. It's bound to be full of surprises.

Overload, anyone?

I am feeling completely overloaded today and this was "supposed" to be a low stress day. Yeah - not so much the case.

The day started out so well in hand - Kelton's morning homework (reading and some writing) done in good time, kids dressed and fed and ready well before the usual deadline.

The house was cleaned, almost sparkling, because I had cleaned well for Kaylen's family party yesterday. Everything felt so peaceful.

And then. I opened my email to find book fair emails coming at me. I had blissfully put it from my mind this weekend and I dare say, while it simmered on the back burner, I felt free from it all. In an instant, it was back. I answered questions, wrote a few emails and then moved on to paying bills. Got that done and moved back to the land of book fair which apparently is an all consuming place because Kaylen's gymnastics lesson went completely out of my mind. To be fair, I didn't even have it on my radar yesterday because I almost made plans with some friends for a playdate this morning (but alas, one of the kids wasn't feeling well and it was postponed). What is wrong with me? She has have gymnastics on Monday morning for three and a half months.

My only excuse is the book fair is robbing me of my brain cells. Counting this week, we have three weeks until the book fair opens for business.....and a whole lot of pieces that have to come together before then.

This morning I wrote letters for kids to take home, edited and printed informational flyers to go home, updated the book fair website, went to the school and had one letter signed, picked up the big box of book fair flyers showing the books available (which will have the letters I created attached and returned to teachers to go home on Thursday) and then took off for the print shop to deliver items to be printed. I will pick those up tomorrow after my all morning book fair workshop (put on by Scholastic), drop promotional things off at the school and then go home to attach 1000 pieces of paper to 500 book flyers. Oh - and after going to the print shop I went to a local high school to register Kaylen for the 6 week preschool program that starts in April.

Tonight I need to organize my PTO binder because after last weeks meeting it looks like a filing cabinet threw up on it. Ugh.

Oh - and in there somewhere I need to work with my co-chair to figure out how we are going to pull off "Muffins with Grandparents/Loved One" which is a mid-week event for the book fair. I'm thinking Costco muffins and mini bottles of water. really the point is to get grandparents shopping at the book fair. :)

So. Much. To. Do.

And now I must remember to take Kaylen to a make-up gymnastics class Thursday morning. And then remember to go to her regular one next Monday.

I'm wishing I had time to just sit back and watch Oak trees grow but alas, I don't. Not this week anyway. And probably not for many weeks to come.

Party With Friends

I can deny it all I want but the truth is, my daughter is days away from turning four. *sigh* I'm not ready. But ready or not....today she had her much anticipated Chuck E Cheese Birthday party with friends. If you know much about me at all you know that I am not the type of mom who has friend parties but instead we stick to family parties only but for some reason...well...I guess all kids deserve a party with friends at least once in their young lives.

I think it's fair to say the Birthday Girl had a great time and I hope all the other young attendees did as well. I have to say, 10AM on a school day is a really good time to go to Chuck E Cheese. It was so quiet and we all felt comfortable letting the kids run the place without hovering all over them.

I didn't do an official "birthday party" there but instead I took over a few tables, took in my own party stuff and cake and just held court. It was low stress which was perfect.

There were 12 kids there and I really wish I had thought to get everyone standing together for a picture but alas - I did not. Sad. :(

Here are a few of the pictures I did get of our fun time:

Happy Birthday Little Princess! I hope you enjoyed the start of your birthday celebration. Four years old. How did that happen so quickly?

Little Coffee Thief

This afternoon I decided to take a few minutes away from the trillions of things I was working on to finish watching Hot Topics from yesterday's "The View". I heated up a cup of coffee (left over from this mornings pot) in the microwave, let the children know where I would be and then went back to my bedroom to settle in and listen to adult conversation.

It went fine for ...oh I don't know....3 minutes? Then a child came asking for something. I paused the show and went to retrieve the craft project (Shrinky Dinks...in case you are wondering. And if you are my sister or brother, a package or ten of the plastic sheets would make a great gift for Mr. Kelton's birthday. I'm just sayin'.). I settled him in to create and went back to my show for...about a minute. The girl showed up and wanted help with something. I helped her and returned to the show. Then Kelton needed something and then Kaylen again. Just when I was convinced they were settled in for a good 10 minutes, the the phone rang. My co-chair for the book fair calling me back about a question I had. We talked and while doing so Kaylen came into the room. I hushed her and turned my attention back to the phone conversation.

When I was done with my call I settled in to watch more TV and I reached for my cup of coffee that had been on the nightstand. It wasn't there.

That's weird. I shrugged it off thinking I had probably taken it back and forth with me while handling kid requests and most likely had finished it and left it in the kitchen.

I watched the rest of the show (all of 5 minutes) and then went out to help Kelton shrink his art projects. Eventually I ended up in the living room and it was there that I noticed my coffee cup sitting in front of the TV. Perplexed, I said "What is my coffee cup doing in front of the TV?" The response from the wee one made me laugh.

She said "I put it there when I was done drinking it."

"Done drinking it? When did you drink it?" I asked

"I took it from your room when you were talking on the phone. Remember when I came in there?"

Huh. I not only have a pint sized coffee drinker on my hands I also have a coffee thief! And I'm betting there was probably a good half cup full. Sheesh!

Where Have You Been?

I know. I know. I've been strangely quiet for the past ummm....5 days and I know some of you are beginning to get restless with the lack of updates happening here and over on Dakota's blog (I'm looking at *you* New Products Jen! Hee Hee).

The only excuse I have to offer is the ol' tired one of "I've been busy!" Stop right there! Don't roll your eyes. I *have* been.

As you know, I'm on the PTO for Kelton's school and if you've ever been on a PTO or PTA than you know what I mean when I say "Holy crudballs, Batman! There is so much to do!!" The project I am buried in right now is the annual Scholastic Book Fair and it is sucking the life out of me. I mean really....someone better look up a life insurance quote online for me because I think this project just may do me in. I kid you not. Though yesterday someone (Jeri - I'm looking at you this time!) on a white horse rode into my email to offer her 5 years of running book fairs experience to me. I promise you I heard the angel's singing.

I'm sure it's not all that complicated once you know what you're doing but at this point, I know nothing. Nada. Zilch. Less than.

And there are no former PTO members in the school to help. We're just flying by the seat of our pants and we have four weeks in which to pull a rabbit out of our hats.

I'm sure things will be more clear after I attend the training at the Scholastic Warehouse next week but consider we are rounding the corner on two weeks behind in their "5 Weeks to a Successful Book Fair" schedule, I'm feeling the pressure. I went to the first meeting on Thursday and I just got the materials Monday afternoon. I spent pretty much all day (much to Kaylen's HUGE disappointment for my lack of complete attention) reading, creating documents and sending emails. Right now I should be logged into the book fair site setting up the school's homepage. It's listed as needing 2 hours to do. Ugh. Then there are the letters for students to take home that need to be generated and, and, and!

I have a PTO meeting tomorrow night so hopefully we'll have people willing to take on different pieces of the puzzle so I don't feel like I'm drowning in it. I do have a co-chair but at this point, she is as frazzled as I and is working hard to keep her head above water on her pieces. Do you have any idea how many volunteers are needed to pull this off? And do you have any idea how lacking in volunteers the school is? Yeah - the math hurts on that one.

OH! And add to that a certain 4 year old has two birthday parties this weekend and well.......you can see where blogging has taken a back seat this week. :)

Kaylen is, at this very moment, having a meltdown because she wants to play with Martian Matter. It requires an adult to oversee and darn it - I just don't have 30 minutes to do that right now. UGH! I feel like a bad mom. I need a back-up wife and barring that - a babysitter. And a housekeeper because if you think that the house is being taken care of right now well...you'd be wrong. *sigh*

Just breathe. I just have to keep breathing and remember that if the book fair ends up just being cases of books for sale then well - that's what it is. As long as the kids can buy books (oh wait - that means info going home to parents...so that part will have to be done...as well as lining up people to take their money.....) it will be ok.

It will be ok.

And I have Jeri who knows how to pull a rabbit from her hat.

It really will be ok. Busy - but ok. *inhale* *exhale* *inhale*