Feeling the Love

This morning I was helping Kaity condition her hair and she wanted me to dry her off and do her lotion. We were talking through this process about nothing in particular, and this is where the conversation went.

Kaitlyn (who keeps asking for Hello Kitty panties b/c they are her favorite, though she has a lot): I don't need any more Hello Kitty panties Mommy.

Me: Why is that?

Kaitlyn: Because I have enough already.

Me: True

Kaitlyn: I don't need any more love either, because I have enough of that already too. You give me so much I already have all I need.

Talk about warming my heart. Oh, and just so ya know, I'm not gonna stop givin' the love sister. It's the gift that keeps on giving. Gosh I love this girl!

The First Snow of the Season

Last night I looked up the weather forecast and discovered it was "currently snowing." I didn't even know snow was in the forcast! We were just outside riding bikes right before dinner. It was COLD, but didn't seem like it was going to snow anytime soon. I knew there was rain in the forecast a couple of days this week, so imagine my surprise when I got out of bed and looked out the window. The snow was really coming down and there was quite a layer already built up! I was almost too excited to sleep! I had already decided we were going outside to play as soon as the kids woke up and had breakfast. Well, they both decided to sleep until 8:45 (on the one day I wanted them up!) and Kaity came to my room first. She walked to the window and looked down, noticing that it looked different, but not really registering anything yet. I asked her what she saw. She broke into a huge grin and said SNOW! Then she told me she almost didn't recognize it. Silly girl! We went to the kitchen and started breakfast and as soon as Ryan heard Kaitlyn, he ran out of his room and said, "I didn't know Kaity was awake!" I think they just didn't want to get out of their warm beds. Can you blame them? He looked out the window in the living room and started hopping around the living room yelling, SNOW! After gearing up we headed downstairs to play.


Kaitlyn getting her amunition.

Ryan ready to fire.

Kaity's wicked look waiting for me to safeguard the camera so she can fire.

They had a blast sliding faster and farther on slide and bed of snow at the base.

One of the great things about homeschooling is the flexibility it provides. Today, we had a three hour snow delay. It was awesome! We played outside for a long time, was joined by a friend, and then went upstairs for a warm playdate with coffee and pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. Now that's how I like to start school! It was a great day both in the "classroom" and outside.

Liver and Onions

I am sick and my husband has quarantined me to my bed.  Mostly because he is supposed to fly twice on Monday and doesn't want to miss out by getting sick himself.  Plus, he wants me to get better as soon as possible.  Uh huh, sure. ;)  So, I am making the menu for the week and sending him to the commissary to do my dirty work.  I have come up with a few things and asked him what he wanted.  He said he didn't care (pretty standard response for him, as he is pretty easy to please.  I really wanted some direction, so I told him, "fine, liver and onions it is."  He laughed and told me I wouldn't eat that.  I told him that I was sick so I wouldn't be eating in general.  Kaitlyn quickly responded, "The people that are not sick will not eat that either."  I guess they called my bluff.  All Recipes, here I come!

So This is Fall....

Growing up in Florida and never having lived north of the Mason Dixon Line, I have never really experienced fall. I mean really experienced fall. The bright, vivid colors of the trees, the cold (okay maybe cool, remember I am from Florida) temperatures, spending the day outside with pink noses, and coming home to warm up with a bowl of hot soup. Today was my day! Today was the day where I got to experience fall. To be able to see all of the shades of fall on one tree. Sure, I had a slight taste of fall on our newly planted maple in South Carolina, but this year was the first year I got to watch the leaves on the trees change color. Fall was just starting to arrive while we were in Japan, and I was loving it! Over the past couple of weeks, the temperatures and humidity have been dropping and the leaves have been changing. Today was one of the most beautiful days I have spent in nature. It was certainly the most colorful and I just have to share the many pictures I took. While the day itself wasn't remarkable, it was cold and hazy, the Garden of Morning Calm was a place I will always remember and will make plans to return to. Last week a friend of mine sent me a link to a place about 2 hours away and asked if I was up for a road trip. Of course...I am almost always up for a road trip! So, we packed our lunches, packed in her car, and headed northeast of Seoul. Two hours and one missed turn later we found ourselves walking through the Garden of Morning Calm. While it was still morning, it was not at all calm. We had 2 boys ages 2 and 3 and a 6 year old girl and were in Korea, where there are always people around, no matter when you go. After all, Seoul's population is over 10 million people! While it wasn't calm, it was fun and a great way to spend the day. Here are some pictures of our day.  They are in no order (they uploaded randomly and I don't have time to figure it out) and there are a lot.  I narrowed them down the best I could (there were A TON!), but I'm outta time....  Enjoy and HAPPY FALL!!!

 

Broken Bums

Kaitlyn was jacking around today, playing with something she wasn't supposed to be playing with. I call to her, telling her if she breaks it I'm going to break her bum. Ryan, who is sitting next to me at the table doing some schoolwork, tells me I can't do that. I respond with, "Oh yes I can." While Kaity knew I was being silly and wouldn't really break her bum, Ryan obviously did not. Very seriously, with a worried look on his sweet little face, he tells me that I can't break her bum because then she can't go poop. I couldn't help but break into laughter.

Literal Thinking

We are getting ready to walk out the door for Girl Scouts. The kids are playing Hullabaloo and have already had baths and dinner. I tell them, "Hey guys we are leaving in less than 5 minutes." Then Kaitlyn says, "Ryan, we're leaving in 4 minutes. Hurry, get your pants and shoes on." Hope you got a little giggle. Gotta run, we're leaving in less than 2 minutes. ;)

Everything that Starts with Muffin

Today I am making zucchini muffins so we can have some healthy and yummy snacks. Ryan is sick and super crabby, so he is making a big fuss over the fact that I am grating zucchini and an even bigger fuss that I will be putting said zucchini in the muffins. Christy and Jeri, if you are reading this, I know what you are thinking! ;) I am also adding pineapple, golden and regular raisins, carrots, applesauce, yogurt and pecans. He doesn't know about that yet, but will when he helps make them. I know they will love them, but Ryan thinks he won't. Welcome to 3!

To get him out of my hair while I grate, I sat them each down at the table with a container of yogurt from the freezer. After a few minutes of calm, quiet eating, Ryan exclaims, "I'll just eat everything that starts with muffin!" Translation...he's not eating the zucchini. We'll see. I think he will change his tune when the house fills with the smell of muffins and they come out of the oven.

Laminating the Chicken

So, I am in the kitchen preparing dinner while the kids are eating snack. After combining all the ingredients in a very convenient, but not environmentally friendly, Ziplock bag, I start rolling the bag around in my hands to mix it all up and then through some chicken in it. Ryan comes over and asks what I am doing (certainly he was convinced that it was some great snack I was hiding from him). I told him that I was marinating the chicken. From the kitchen table I hear, "You're LAMINATING the chicken?!?!?!

Are you thinking we've been doing too much school? Don't let her fool you! I was just laminating some number cards this morning while she was working on her math. Funny that the laminating stuck, hopefully the word problems did too.

Here's another great recipe that I am making tonight. http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/07/grilled-chicken-with-lemon-basil-pasta/ (I love this woman!) Not exactly the healthiest one on the web, but Bill's PT test is done and we are celebrating this week! With burgers and margaritas at Chili's and recipes at home with heavy cream. Plus, I need to prepare my layer of blubber for winter. I was freezing yesterday without the sun and the high in the upper 60s. It's gonna be a long winter for this Florida girl.

Annie

My child is being naughty today and instead of charging her tickets (because she is out) I am making her do extra chores. Win, win...for me. I don't have to yell/nag/harp and my house gets clean. Yes, I realize I have to let go to accomplish this and her job is not going to be as good as mine, but hey, at least it is getting done. As I write this she is spraying down the cabinets and wiping them clean. She has been really into Annie lately and she just told me that this is really hard work and she is like Annie......except she isn't singing the song. Ha! So, either she will start to behave or my house will be really clean. The funniest thing about this is that I was making 5 buckets of margaritas for our show and my naming tomorrow and looking at all the empty bottles on the counter, I did remind myself a little of Mrs. Hannigan.

Big Island Adventure - Part 1

Our first day on the Big Island was spent hanging out in the condo, shopping, napping, and otherwise preparing for Bill's arrival the next day. After we woke up from naps, we took the kids to a beautiful place called The Place of Refuge near Captain Cook, south of Kona. We spent a couple hours or so exploring the wonderful tide pools there and was hoping to catch a beautiful sunset. While the clouds didn't cooperate with the sun setting as we had hoped, we had a great time and got a bunch (again, way too many) pictures of the kids enjoying the exploration that comes with a new world and the curiosity of being a child. I love the moments where we can just slow down and enjoy those youthful moments, instead of feeling rushed by the day to day hustle and bustle. Please enjoy the slideshow of the best pictures below.

The Car with the Horse

After being in Florida for 7 weeks, which went so fast I didn't get a chance to spend as much time with people as we wanted or see some of the people we wanted to, the kids and I boarded a plane for Kona, Hawaii. We had a 4 hour layover in LA and my sister and Rylee drove up from San Diego to spend a few hours with us. We were so happy to be able to steal some extra time with both of them and the visit was worth the tears shed from Kaitlyn when she had to say goodbye to her Aunt Sharon and baby Rylee again (mostly Aunt Sharon, as they have always had a special bond).

We arrived in Hawaii after a very long day of travel (we left at 5 am and finally settled into our condo at 8:30 Hawaii time, which was 2:30 am Florida time), caught a shuttle to pick up our rental car, and then went back to baggage claim to pick up our (many) bags. We did just a little bit of shopping while back in the States. ;) Fortunately, Kona is an open air airport and the baggage claim is outside 50 feet from the curb and the whole process went seamlessly.

While we were standing in line, Kaitlyn was asking where our car was. There were two cars out front that looked like they were ready to go, and I told her I thought that one of those were ours. She got very ePublish Postxcited and with wide eyes asked if the blue one with the horse on it was ours! My response, "No honey, that blue Mustang convertible is the car Mommy and Daddy would have if we were here without children. The one next to it is probably ours." Once we took the top off the 4-door Wrangler, she got a little bit more excited about the boring vehicle without the horse on it.

Motivation...or Complete Lack Thereof

I go through these phases where I get so far behind that I begin to feel overwhelmed and instead of just biting the bullet and getting it done, I shut down and don't want to do anything. That's kind-of how I am feeling about this blog and our pictures. We just take to darn many. This week I have been watching a dear friend's 3 sweet children in addition to my own, and while it is busy during the waking hours, nap time is pretty quiet as the four children who are home during the day are 6, 3 (2 of them), and 18 months. With the jet lag, today is the second day Kaitlyn has napped this week. Yet, nap time comes around and I jack around, not accomplishing much of anything besides keeping the house somewhat tidy and checking facebook. So, today I am biting the bullet and at least getting some of the stuff out of the way. I need to get over my all or nothing perfectionist mentality and get on with it already! I made myself a delicious cup of coffee with half and half and turbinado sugar, threw on my hoodie, lounge pants, and cozy Korean socks, and am enjoying my little sweet treat and quiet house with only the sound of the keys as I type. It may not be perfect, but at least it will be done. So here goes!