I promise...

...I have not completely abandoned you. I just needed a break, call it a long "siesta" if you will.

But I'm beginning to feel re-charged, ready to get back to my sorely neglected friend...Mr.Blog.

Oh how I've missed you!

Happy 3rd B-day Kaitlin!!!

How did we go from this:

(this picture just cracks me up by the way)

To This?

Happy Birthday to the sweet, quirky little Princess otherwise known as Kaitlin!!! She's a pure joy in anyone and everyones lives.....especially ours!! WE LOVE YOU!!!!

When you eavesdrop in Target.....

......this is what you hear from the lady in the lingerie area on her cell phone.

"Yeah, I definitely think you need to go see the psychic........that way you can prove to them that you're not crazy!"

Oh yeah....that sounds legit.

I can't imagine what I may hear next time I go to Wal-Mart!!!

So Proud......

......to call this creature my good friend. I would say "old time friend" too if I knew it wouldn't totally offend her. Well, guess that wouldn't be the first time!! :-)

Check it out:

http://www.tphblog.com/

She USED to be the owner of "The Painted House" link (and still is really) that you see on my blog. She has now moved her words, art, creativity and passion to the above location.

Well worth the time and energy!!!

YOU GO GIRL!!! :-)

Revelation

So I came to a conclusion today.

People in this world are just "interesting".

I didn't say "good" and I didn't say "bad"...........those are relevant views that tend to be very biased.

"Interesting" is just the best term I can wrap my brain around describing the general population!

New Duds

So I'm trying out a new "look" with the blog. No major changes...........just colors and stuff.

Now if only this new change could magically create more TIME for blogging but that's whole nether issue.



BTW............this little "Stinker" lived up to his name this week. Made "friends" with the neighborhood skunk family. And they must be BEST OF FRIENDS b/c they showed some SERIOUS love to Mr.Chase.



Also.......as I was putting the girls to bed on Wednesday, I gave them each a kiss and said my usual "no talking, go to sleep" speech............Kellyn looks at me, smiles and says "Okie Dokey Artichokie". I just busted up laughing!!! It's the little things! :-)

Pot of Gold

This beautiful rainbow filled the sky Friday afternoon. Kellyn and Kaitlin were bursting out of their skin with excitement. First rainbow (outside of the one's they've seen on Dora) so as you can imagine.........lots of squealing laughter. Talk about a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow!! How about 2 adorable toe-heads instead??

So I took the girls to a park this afternoon after our Sunday run to Costco. While I sat at a picnic table watching the girls attack the playground with much vigor, I was overwhelmed with how my life felt so "full" with these 2 little monsters. Moments later, an out of breath Kellyn came over and sat down across from me. We sat in silence for a moment and then she looked at me, crossed her hands, tilted her head and said "So Mommy, how has your day today?". I couldn't help but laugh!

Moments later........Kaitlin and I were swinging together on the swings. I was next to her trying to teach her how to propel herself while Kellyn was on the playground. I look up to see Kellyn walking towards me and Kait and in her "mature voice" said "Awww......this is the cutest thing I've ever seen".

Seriously.........where do they get this stuff?

Yes, my life and my heart is VERY full!!!! ;-)

Bathroom Conversation

This may be TMI (too much info) but so what........this is my blog! :-)

You never know what you're going to get when you go into a public bathroom with a 4 and almost 3 year old (and that "almost" is REALLY important to Kait).

We were in South Lake Tahoe this weekend and visited one of the large casino's to have dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. While wasting time waiting for our table, I took the girls to the bathroom. The 3 of us shoved into a tiny stall together. Once I got the girls all taken care of, I thought I would take advantage of this time to take care of my own business (#1 for those of you who need ALL the details).

As I finished things up and began to wipe, Kaitlin yelled out "Wow mommy........you have a big butt".

Nice.

I was in a stunned silence long enough to hear several ladies laugh in the surrounding stalls.

And that folks - is what we call a humbling experience.

Time to go hit the treadmill!!!

Happy Sweethearts Day!

Time Warp

So I'm driving Kellyn home from her gymnastics class tonight and our route includes passing this seedy dive bar that is a local favorite for bikers (not the athletic sort).

I wasn't really expecting to see this!!! Life is so funny sometimes!!!

Poor Xena

Kaitlin has this thing about dogs............she has to be touching, hugging, kissing, poking, terrorizing one at all times. So at naptime, she felt the need to make sure sweet Xena had plenty of blankets. Lucky X, huh?

Warning: This is GROSS!!!

So, by now.........you think you know my girls. Those sweet little angelic creatures that are featured time and time again on this blog. If you're anything like me...........you look at their pictures, hear their cute little stories and think "How could they ever be guilty of anything short of being absolutely adorable?". Well.............this might set the record straight.

Let me set the stage

I'm running a bathtub and while the girls are stripping off their clothes and going potty (which is a MUST before bathtime b/c you KNOW what warm water does to little bladders), I'm cleaning up their room and getting their beds ready for story time. In the distant (the bathroom), I hear Kellyn telling Kaitlin to lay down on the floor. CURIOUS (and I wish I wasn't so curious), I peered around the corner to see Kellyn directing Kaitlin to lay face down on the carpet. She (Kellyn) then proceeds to "poke" Kaitlin's RIGHT BETWEEN THE BUTTCHEEKS...........laughing HYSTERICALLY and making this silly poking noise.

Of course, I jumped in and said "STOP" only to see Kellyn raising her finger to her face. Once my tiny little brain was able to get a grip on the situation I yelled out "Kellyn, don't you put that finger anywhere NEAR your mouth"!!! And she looked at me............innocent and truthful as could be and said:




"Mommy.............I'm not putting it in my mouth. I'm just smelling it!"






Oh yes............my "angels". Certainly this is Jim's influence!!!! I'm not claiming this post!!!! :-)

Sweaters and Rocking Chairs

Last week brought many special "items" to our door. It's like Santa just can't leave these girls alone!!!!!!

First was a package from Grammy in Rhode Island (Jim's Mom). She HAND MADE 2 of the most adorable sweaters for the girls...............and it was her first time!!! She plays in a different league and I can't even begin to imagine what that's like. The girls just love them, I just love them, they are just PERFECT!! Thank you Grammy!!!!

Next were 2 little rocking chairs for the girls teddy bears, dolls, whatever. These were handpicked and delivered by our FABULOUS neighbor Marge who is just an angel on this earth. We just LOOOOOVE Marge (especially Chase who goes and visits her daily for treats)!!!! Every time we walk over there and visit, she pulls out 2 very old little kids rocking chairs and the girls just sit there and rock while we chit chat. So needless to say, these rocking chairs are PERFECT!!!! She was even kind enough to HAND MAKE these cute little hats for the girls prior to Christmas. I told you ...............we just LOVE Marge!!!!

I'm starting to feel very inadequate being surrounded and blessed with all of these highly talented individuals!!! It's inspiring me to pick up a new hobby in my "free time"! HA!!!

THANK YOU!!!!

The Photo Shoot

So if you received a Christmas card, then you got a little preview of what took place a couple months back. We were lucky enough once again to have Miss Ashley come over to take pictures of the family. The girls just adore her (and so do we) and the weather was just perfect............so that's a good mix for a nice selection of photos.

Here's our favorites:

Heart of the matter

This evening after dinner.........me and the girls sat around the art table coloring. All of sudden, Kellyn stopped everything and looked at me and said "Mommy....you make my heart so so so happy".

It's official..........she has me wrapped around her little fingers! Such a sweetheart! :-)

Meanwhile - Kait took a nice little spill on her new "big girl princess bike" (and yes...that's it's name). Although she just got a minor scrape on her left hand, her tears represented something like a limb breaking off. Very dramatic! However........my "big girl" got right back up on her bike and peddled around like a champ. LOVE HER!

Christmas Aftermath

First and foremost - I hope that all of your family and friends had a VERY Merry Christmas and we hope this season brought the love and joy of it's true origination into your homes and hearts.

Also- we want to say THANK YOU to everyone who made this day special for us. Santa's little helpers (a.k.a. UPS, FedEx, Postal Service) have all visited our doorstep many times over the past weeks and have filled out home with beautifully wrapped gifts that the girls are just in love with. I'm humbled by the generosity and completely overwhelmed with the comfort that wonderful family and friends can give. LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Now..........on with it.

Kaitlin has been BEGGING for a big girl princess bike for the past several months. Let me just say............this was the highlight of today. She's still talking about it. And now that they are tucked into their beds fast asleep after a fun day of playing with all their new, cool toys..........I can almost guarantee Kaitlin is dreaming of all the fun things she's going to do with her big girl princess bike!!!

Amidst all the craziness of new toys - we gathered the family (mutts and cats included) and all headed for a small little hike through the fields and woods behind the house. Kaitlin and Kellyn had to show me a dirty old toy car they found last week while taking a hike with Daddy. How they even remember that was there...........beyond me! We even did a little "fishing" at the creek. Well, we PRETENDED to fish in the creek. Would help if there were fish! :-)

This was truly a wonderful Christmas. Not only did we SOOOO enjoy watching the girls excitement build, but just having the time to spend together as a family........with none of the outside pressures of life......That was the best gift ever! Granted, I'm in SERIOUS need of a shower, but oh well! I've loved the whole "PJ" look we've had the past couple of days. Reality will settle back in..............next week! :-)