2011 - A Year in Review

 

Okay, here is is....  The 2011 Recap of this crazy family - as told by our (mine and Kurt's) Facebook status updates.  
 
(Please don't judge....)



JANUARY
I’m watching a fight take place between Kurt and the Blue-Ray player.  The issue is over the volume.  The bass just got so loud that the windows are about to shatter.  Kurt just threw down and said he would have to ((gulp)) read.the.manual.  Blue-Ray player: 1; Kurt: 0.
 
Today’s word of encouragement:  No matter how much you love and care for an animal, given the opportunity, it would eat you.
 
Want to give a shout out to the uber-creepy guy in the parking garage (the DARK and ABANDONED parking garage) who thought it would be helpful to RUN DIRECTLY AT ME to let me know that the dome light in my car was still on (you know, the kind that shuts off automatically).  Thank you also for not taking it personally when my “gratitude” included the phrase “stinkin’ idiot.”
 
FEBRUARY
Hope’s friend Mia is spending the night.  Jack just proposed to her.
 
Hope and I were driving home from church.  Kurt and Jack pull up beside us at a stop light.  Kurt gives me the “I’m so awesome” look.  The light turns green and we drive away.  Hope asks what the look was about and I told her that Daddy was trying to be cool.  Hope said, “Oh yeah.  Nothing is cooler than a man driving a mini-van with a little boy in the backseat watching a princess movie.  That’s realllly cool.”
 
Jack has named his brain Kevin.  Kevin comes and goes as he pleases.
 
MARCH
"Daddy, are pigs made out of bacon?”
 
Kurt and Hope are playing chess.  Jack and I wanted to participate so I told Hope to move one of her little prawns and Jack keeps shouting “King me!”  We’ve now been vanquished to Jack’s room to play bingo.  Apparently the chess-playing smarty-pants need it quiet.  Sigh…. Intellectuals.
 
The kids are getting older.  Hope takes 25 minute long showers and Jack has announced that he’s changing his name to Sonic.
 
APRIL
Signing off as an RGI/TDC employee for the last time… It’s been quite a ride.  12 years… As of Monday, it’s all Digital Felt Productions – woot-woot!
 
Hope got the part she wanted in her little school play.  Very excited for her!
 
Good Friday… a time to be thankful.  ♥
 
MAY
My little man Jack is 5 years old today!  ♥
 
Jack and I had a really long talk tonight.  Seriously, I think we talked for over an hour (which is an ETERNITY for a 5 year old).  I feel like we really made some progress – really broke through some barriers – really go the heart of some issues – and made a connection.  Of course the conversation would have been much more meaningful to me if I gave a rip about Super Mario Brothers…
 
So thankful for great times with great friends…

JUNE
The junk drawers in my kitchen won’t close anymore.  I think it’s time to escalate to a junk cupboard.
 
So Hope (who is 9) and I are having a talk. ME: Hope, you can’t date till you’re… HOPE: I know, till I’m 45.  ME: You know I’m just kidding when I say that, right?  HOPE: Yea.  ME: We’ll probably let you double date when you’re 15. You know what that is?  HOPE: Is that with two guys?!
 
It’s really hard to ignore the kids when they keep repeating themselves.

JULY
I ♥ UGSFAW
 
So I’m playing the board game LIFE with Jack and he starts warning me about the importance of buying car insurance because (and I quote) “you never know when some bozo is going to get in front of the wheel.”  In other news, I find myself getting a little bit weepy at the birth of all three of his LIFE babies.
 
Just for today, I choose to believe that there is some (however miniscule) nutritional value in Cocoa Puffs.
 
AUGUST
“Daddy, I don’t think Mom would appreciate you showing us how to do that.”
 
Just saw a lawyer commercial in which they were interviewing a client about his “fatal accident.”  I guess zombies need lawyers too.
 
Jack just saw a police car, but the words “police car” seemed to evade him, so he says, “Dad! Look at the… the… um…. th.. .th… the… jail taxi!”
 
SEPTEMBER
Hope told me this morning that since I refer to coffee as Joe, she is going to refer to milk as Kevin. (what is it with my kids and the name Kevin?)
 
Nutella:  Because “fudge sandwich” just sounds wrong.
 
Hope and Jack are barricaded in her secret lab (her room) putting the finishing touches on their dream teleportation device (a box covered with felt and scotch tape).  They are currently in a heated debate about laser beams and launch pads (apparently love for sci-fi is genetic).
 
OCTOBER
Happy 10^th birthday to my beautiful Hopey-Hope! ♥
 
It used to be that when Hope had a friend over they would play with dolls and kitchen sets.  Now they play with CD and players flip
Cameras so they can make their own music videos.  #timestheyareachangin’
 
If you say the word “gullible” slowly, it sounds like “oranges.”
 
NOVEMBER
Hope came home from school and told me she was DISAPPOINTED that PE was canceled. Who the heck does this kid belong to?!
 
Most of these protestors sound like they need to occupy a library.
 
ME: Kurt, Jack got in trouble at school – he got a color change. KURT: Man, that kid, what are gonna do wit-Well, wait – what did he do? ME: He was talking to a girl. KURT: ((silence))  ME: I SAID, he was talking to a girl. KURT: Was she cute?
 
DECEMBER
Fa la la la laaaa, la La.La.Laaaaaa!
 
ME:  Jack!  Time for bed!  JACK:  Pass….
 
Those little mirrors that they make so you can see what your baby is doing in the back seat of the car – never felt the need.  Now they are 10 and 5 and I’m getting one of those mirrors so that I can tell which kid I need to yell at.

Happy New Year to you!!

Bisquik Birthday!

This week we celebrated Hope's 10th birthday - double digits!!

Breakfast is her favorite meal of the day, so we wanted to do a special birthday breakfast for her.

Pancakes are her favorite breakfast food - so we wanted to incorporate that into her special breakfast.

Pancakes.... Breakfast.... Birthday.... boom!

My husband had an epiphany.

How about a Pancake Cake? Brilliant!

I added - how about a 10 layer pancake cake since she's 10 years old? Also brilliant!

We made the the pancakes the night before and then re-heated them that morning.

Hope was thrilled and I think a new tradition has been born.

Behold.... the 10-Pancake Pancake-Cake:

 

Behold the Biskquik Brilliance...

All 10 layers of yumminess....

A little cut-away view...

 It was glorious (and deeee-licious)!  AND!  It was cheap and easy (two of my favorite adjectives).  Yay for Biskquik birthdays!!

Blink...

Jack had his last day of Preschool VBS today.

His last big event as a preschooler.  I started thinking about the fact that he's going to start elementary school and how different it's going to be...

No more naptime.

No more snack.

No more Mother's Day Tea parties.

It feels a little strange.  It actually brought on a little panic....

See, people always tell you that it goes by really fast.

And I realized today....

It really does go by fast.

And once it's gone, you can't get it back.

Today marks the end of preschool. Tomorrow will be the end of college.

You blink and it's over....

Time is precious...

Ivory Soap. Who Knew, Right?!

So I saw this done on a blog that I love, love LOVE called Housing a Forest, and thought it looked like fun.  We highly recommend it.  All you need is a bar of Ivory Soap and a microwave. 

Watch our video. 

It's cool.

Here's a still shot of the soap cloud.  (be careful when you first take it out because it's a little hot).

You can use the soap cloud to make "soap paint" for the kids' baths.  Here's the link to the recipe for the soap paint.  I tried it and Jack loved it!

Good.Clean.Fun. (and it only cost 97 cents!)

DIY Summer Scientists... Fun (No, really. It was FUN!!)

Okay, so I saw this on Pinterest - another DIY. But hey! This time it really WAS simple, cheap, fast and fun. I was so excited!

Most people probably already know this little kid-pleaser, but it's new to me so I'll share it.

What you need:

1. White Vinegar
2. Dishwashing soap (I used lemon Joy)
3. Food Coloring
4. Baking Soda
5. A Clear glass (or clear plastic)
6. A tray to catch all the run off

The directions I read said to pour the vinegar first (fill the glass to the half-way point). Add a few drops of dishwashing soap and some food coloring; then stir it all together.

Drop a heaping spoonful of baking soda in the glass. Stand back and watch the smiles on the kids faces.

It worked.... But we found a variation that yielded a more dramatic effect.

1. Squeeze a few drops of dishwashing soap in the empty glass.
2. Drop in a heaping spoonful of baking soda (we used a LOT).
3. Add some food coloring (we used a LOT to make the color more vibrant).
4 Pour in some vinegar and watch it go!

Either way, it's fun, fast and pretty cheap. We actually had everything in the house already so it didn't cost us anything. My kids are 9 and 5 and they both really enjoyed it. Here's some pics...

Here they are. They're thinking that I'm about to set them up for another miserable craft experience (see prior blog entry for details on that). Note the trays - you're going to want something like that to catch the runoff (otherwise you'll have a huge mess)

The first time around we followed the original instructions (adding the baking soda to the vinegar). The reaction was okay - but it was much better when we did it the second time (adding the vinegar to the baking soda)

Jack is beginning to get into it here (I love his little face)...

Hope takes her turn next...

Now we start adding the vinegar to a big pile of baking soda (the reactions from both the glass and the kids got bigger and better)

Must.Add.More.Vinegar.

Boom!

Sigh.... So much fun.

Free. Fast. Fun.

Oh, and a little added bonus.... The combination of the baking soda and vinegar totally made the glasses sparkle. Seriously - I have the worst water/mineral stains on my glassware (ga-ross). This little experiment totally removed the stains. Again, most people probably already know about this little benefit, but I was completely clueless.

Try it. You'll like it!

Shopping with Idiots.

(DISCLAIMER: It is not my intent to offend the male popluation with this blog entry. I am merely re-capping a series of events - and my inablity to keep my mouth shut in the face of such events. Alright. You may proceed.)

I'm at Home Depot. I need to buy a couple props for a video shoot. The video is about a construction worker, so I need a vest and a hard hat.

I'm standing there, deliberating over which vest to get when I hear someone snickering behind me. I turn to look - and about 3 feet away from me are two guys. Just standing there, laughing.

At.Me.

Mr. Bigmouth grins at me, rolls his eyes and says, "Well would ya look at that. A chick. At a harware store. Buying CLOTHES. Typical."

Mr. Bigmouth's stunt double guffaws and says, "Yeah. Uh.... typical."

I give them a tight-lipped smile, and take a step toward them. I then remember my manners, turn on my heel and walk away.

Fast forward about 5 minutes.

I'm at the self-checkout line. I see that, in the next aisle over, Dumb and Dumber (aka Mr. Bigmouth and his stunt double) are also in a self-checkout line.

They are at their register - I am still waiting for the two people in front of me to take their turns.

The first person in my line finishes up and the line moves forward. Beavis and Butthead are still at their register. Apparently their purchase is taking a while.

The second person in line finishes up and it's now my turn. I glance over and and see that the Wonder Twins are still at war with their register.

I pay for my items, bag them up and begin walking toward the door. I look over and see that Bill & Ted are still trying to conquer their register and pay for their stuff (3 tubes of Liquid Nails and 2 tubs of spackle to be exact).

I walk over to them, stand about three feet away and just smile. They are arguing about how to use the register. It's clear that they can't figure out how to make a work.

They look up and I smile at them. I say, "Well would ya look at that. Two dudes. At a computer. And they don't know how to use it. Typical."

With that, I turn around and walk out; leaving them there to bask in their stupidity.

Look who's laughing now...

Daddy - Daughter Dating Dialogue

(Some of you have already read this on my husband's Facebook page, but I thought it warranted repeating.)

So Hope (who is 9) and Kurt are having a serious talk in the kitchen.

He says to her, "Now Hope, you know that you can't date until you're..."

She cuts him off with a roll of her eyes and retorts, "I know, I'know - I can't date till I'm like 45."

Kurt laughs and says, "You know I'm just kidding when I say that, right?"

"Yea" Hope responds slowly.

Kurt continues, "We'll probably let you double date when you're around 16. You know what double dating is?"

With renewed interest in the conversation, Hope says “Is that with two guys?”

I...... am so proud. ♥