Magnificent Mom Moments

Things with me

2011-05-02T20:32:00.001-04:00

Inspired by my friend Kathy who always gave the long version and the short (quick and easy to read) version in her email updates. Only with me you only get the short version -

Things going on with me:

I currently have poison ivy on most areas of my body. I blame Carlos who likes to chop things down in our yard and burn them. I think the fumes from the fire engulfed me in nasty itchyness.
Cole is having tubes put in his ears on Wednesday - a minor thing, but still a "surgery" where they knock him out. Should be fine... I will see how it goes. Hopefully I won't lose it when they take him from me.
Finally made an appointment and visited a doctor for a regular check-up. It has only been on my "to-do" list for three or four years....
I have to go get a second CT scan on my abdomen because of mysteriously swollen lymph glands or something. Shouldn't be much to worry about at this point. Just another medical thing going on at the moment.
Still waiting to hear back from the eye doctor on how to fix my cornea... (it is currently a bit wonky and I am still seeing double.) Made an appointment for a second opinion.
I am getting a wee bit tired of medical stuff- appointments and phone calls and scheduling and prescriptions, etc. One thing just keeps leading to another, it would be nice to put it behind me. (In the month of May between me and the kids we have 9 doctors appointments.... NINE).
In all the medical stuff going on, nothing is overwhelming emotionally or physically. It is just STUFF I have to do. It just takes a lot of time. Time that is usually precious to begin with.
Today was a beautiful day that required an impromtu stop at the dairy farm where they make their ice cream but only take cash. I dug up every last penny in my car and the kids and I shared a bowl of mint chocolate chip on a park bench next to a life size plaster statue of a horse with Cole booming "ICE CREAM CONE" every 5 minutes even though we were eating from a cup.
Kailin has totally mastered how to turn the bowl and scrape every last drop out the remaining liquid ice cream.
Kailin turns 3 soon. Ack.
I like Aldi and Aldi prices. I need to shop there more often.
Good neighbors are fantastic.
Good friends are beautiful.
God is greater and more fantastic and more beautiful than anything I can imagine.
Tomorrow is going to be a good day.

Love,

Kirsten

The world according to Kailin

2011-04-26T19:57:00.000-04:00

Kailin-ism's - - - - - - -

We were in the car on the way to the dentist when Kailin saw a silver Honda Pilot in the other driving lane next to us. Smart girl that she is - she immediately identified the car as "Nony's car" because Nony drives a silver Pilot. I then with my super adult self try to explain to her that although it is exactly like "Nony's car" the car is actually called a Honda Pilot. Her response? "No mommy - it is called a CAR." I deserved that one.

We arrived at the dentist and when her name was called she sprang into the doorway and announced to the technician that she was going to get a new toothbrush and her favorite colors were pink and orange and how she should get her teeth cleaned all while taking the lead walking down the hallway to the room. Future dentist?

Kailin gets upset at meal times when her plate, fork/spoon, and cup aren't pink and orange because - (see above) they are her favorite colors.

Kailin L.O.V.E.S. Thomas the train - and all the other trains involved with Thomas.

Kailin was watching Thomas and turned to me and said "Mommy, I think I should go on a train sometime soon, ok?"

Kailin was sitting on my bed playing with my alarm clock and just for the sake of making conversation I asked her what time she thought it was. Her response? "Party time." Of course.

Kailin is totally obsessed with her upcoming birthday. (see above) She saw a box full of baskets and easter eggs for our (then) upcoming easter egg hunt and declared "It's my party box!"

When I asked her what we should do or have at her upcoming birthday she answered "candles."

Kailin thinks "sharing" is when she takes something from Cole and he doesn't have a tantrum over his lost toy. "Look mommy - He shared!" Um. not really - you took it and he decided he didn't care.

My mom was trying to get Kailin to go potty before rest time - Kailin sat and sat and sat on the toilet (probably to avoid rest time) and then after finally going potty she looked at my mom and said

"There I went pee pee - are you happy now?"

She wouldn't wear a dress for Easter until I put leggings on her and called it a "big shirt". Can't say I blame her....

She is totally in love with worms. And finding worms. Our backyard currently has lots of holes....

There are sooooo many more. She is my little spunky red head.

Double Vision

2011-04-22T14:40:00.000-04:00

I have double vision in my right eye. It isn't as fun as it sounds and it certainly has not launched my career as a super-hero. The story begins about a year ago when Kailin scratched my eye with her tiny little finger nail. I was treated for a scratched cornea at the eye doctor and sent home. Except my eye didn't get better - it kept getting worse. After about half a dozen visits (co-pay, co-pay, co-pay) the eye doctor finally discovered what was really going on: a Herpes (viral) infection of the eye. Lovely. My first reaction? Um- how did I get this because I thought Herpes was....? Ohh - this is a Herpes 1 infection as opposed to the Herpes 3. Got it. As it turns out, the infection had either been dormant in my system until Kailin's scratch activated it - or I caught it from someone else who had it. The doctor was able to get the infection under control and thankfully the scarring from the infection on my cornea was under my line of vision. I haven't had too much of an issue with it - until March. After Carlos' two week hiatus to China, because of the fatigue (and maybe a small teensy weensy amount of stress) my infection flared back up big time. I went to back to the eye doctor immediately but unfortunately sustained another hit to my eye with the scarring on my cornea. After another half a dozen visits (co-pay, co-pay, co-pay), and two pairs of prescription eye glasses that made me sick to wear them (Praise God - Lens Crafters took them back and gave me a full refund!), the eye doctor has finally figured out what is going on now. After taking a scan of my eye and making a map of my eye like a topography map this is what I know:

Good news: the scarring on my cornea is still beneath my line of vision.

Bad news: the impact of the scarring has literally created a "mountain peak" or a ripple effect in my cornea. (a cornea should normally be fairly smooth) This is why I see double. My right eye is now refracting light about 2 or 3 different ways. It makes looking at anything with light interesting and difficult. A computer screen, tv, sunlight, lamp light - you name it. I see it twice.

I may need surgery. The doctor said it may be something as simple as making a slit in my cornea to let it relax and smooth out. (Does making a slit in my eye sound simple?) My eye doctor has to do some research and get back to me on what happens next. (Someone asked me if this meant he was "Googling" my eye problem....)

I am hoping maybe for a little more than that.

I am hopeful.

I just have to stay fatigue and stress free. :)

Trust me, although I have had my ups and downs with this eye thing - I can still (mostly) see and I am very thankful for that. I will keep everyone posted on what the verdict is. Maybe I should go googling....

To call or not to call

2011-04-18T10:42:00.000-04:00

My kids are sick. Not laying motionless on the floor with a rocketing fever sick - but just the cranky, generally whiny, slightly feverish now and then, snot running down their faces kind of sick. I sit and torture myself with the question to call or not to call the doctor? On one hand, they are not their normal selves. On the other hand, how do I explain to the "advice nurse" that a runny nose, crankiness, and general whiny behavior is a sickness? I generally always decide it is better to sacrifice my dignity in the face of the nurses and doctors and make the call in the hopes that I am right. I took Cole to the doctor last Wednesday, and it turned out he had an ear infection. Ah HA! Hooray for mom instincts and medication. Friday morning he was feverish and miserable again with so much congestion and coughing he was gagging. Okkkkay - but while he is on antibiotics??? I called the advice nurse and she suggested a small dose of Benadryl and observe him for a few hours. I felt like the crazy mom who calls for everything. I called back 4 hours later when he was gagging so hard he was crying- back to the doctor we went. The diagnosis this time?
Teething.
Huh? Where did my instincts go wrong?
I was sent on my way with some allergy nose spray (just in case it was more than just teething) and the advice to wait it out. He is feeling better now, however Kailin now has the same "teething" illness. She is congested, coughing, feverish, and generally miserable. So here I am today with the phone in my hand - to call or not to call? Do I call and talk to the advice nurse for the 4th time in 2 weeks? I have the feeling she hears my last name and just sighs. I also wonder if our charts have little stickers on them that indicates whether I am a frequent caller - the crazy mom who calls when her kids get the sniffles. If I do call and end up going it means I have to haul both kids into the sick den with the hopes that I am right. Or do I sit and wait it out and then possibly have a more miserable child tomorrow? Oh the agony.

And by the way - here I am. A few of you have mentioned my noticeable blogging absence and I thank you for caring. (Mike, Susan, and Lauren- that means you.) :)
I do love to write all the randomness in my head but ever since March I have been busy and focused on other things. It comes down to time and money. I hope I can find more time to share about the things going on, but for now, I think I will go call the doctor.

Updates from Day 11

2011-02-26T21:30:00.001-05:00

---Warning: this post may make no sense, please read at your own risk---

Day 11 -
Let me see what I can remember about what we have been up to. It is going to be a challenge because lately I have been forgetting things like simple vocabulary words, what life before kids was like, and my voicemail password. I can not begin to tell you how incredibly freaked out I was on Thursday when I went to check my voicemail and could NOT remember what my code was. I have punched that 5 digit number in hundreds of times, but it escaped me all day on Thursday. I tried calling Verizon but my name isn't on the freakin' account so the lady wouldn't even talk to me even after I rambled about my husband being in China and being by myself - she was all Fort Knox about it. It wasn't until the next day that my autopilot kicked back in and I remembered. Thankfully there weren't any urgent messages - just one from the pediatrician reminding me I have an appointment for Cole on Monday.
Let me see how I do remembering that one.
So people will ask how I am doing - and I will say I am doing good, and I am doing good. But the memory loss, current breakout of massive zits, and a flare up of my fun herpes eye infection will let me know what is really up. (Yes I said herpes. Yes it is in my eye. It lies dormant until it gets aggravated by stress or fatigue. It makes it swollen, red, bloodshot, oozy, and blurry. Lots of fun) SO I am tired and apparently (somewhat) stressed. Even if I won't fully admit it. You have to understand though - my stressed is still a very laid back stressed. I am not freaking out or ready to run out of the house screaming (yet) - it is just a build up of busyness and not getting enough rest. So Moms and Aunts and loved ones reading this - please don't freak out - I really am ok.
And for those of you still curious about the Herpes eye infection - just go Google it.

What I can remember - we had a great time at the Nature Center on Monday with our friends Kelly and Will - beautiful day, interesting attempt at a nature walk, not to many animals, and some wonderful otters who put on a show for us. No nap for Kailin.

Tuesday - Work. Come home to crazy kids. No nap for Kailin.

Wednesday.... what on earth did we do Wednesday? Maybe it will come to me later. (Later) Oh yeah! We went for a walk in the morning with friends Christi and Ivi - love walking. love friends. love the new stroller. Managed to keep the kids from beating on each other in the stroller. No nap for Kailin. Later in the afternoon while laying on the floor in sheer exhaustion in Kailin's room - she surprises me, drop lands on my stomach taking all the wind out of me - and then tells me "Mommy - You look like a Princess." (heart melts a little)

Thursday - Work. Come home to crazy kids. No nap for Kailin.

Friday - Took Kailin to the doctor - sinus infection. Yay. Waited 30 minutes, went to the pharmacy - managed to get both kids to the back of the store without them knocking anything off a shelf to have the pharmacist say - "I haven't gotten anything for you". ARRGH! (Why does this always happen?!) I want to go back to the good ol' written on paper prescriptions.
Call Dr. office - they discover the transmission hasn't been sent. duh.
They call pharmacy.
Pharmacy then starts working on order.
I spend 15 minutes chasing my kids around CVS and avoiding the looks of shoppers and the annoyed cashier.
Get prescription.
Get the heck out.
So after almost 2 weeks of my daughter not napping - (maybe that is why I am tired??) she finally conked out for 1 hour on Friday. Enough time for me to pass out myself for a short bit.
Decide it would be better to stay home rather than meet up with friends like planned that evening (which made me very sad and a little depressed) due to fuzzy eye condition and driving at night and general fatigue. End up feeding kids dinner at the granny hour of 4:30 because I just want to strap them into chairs so they can't move.
Out of milk.
Out of bread.
Out of juice.
Out of peanut butter.
Out of 20 other things.
Off to Wal-mart we go. Friday night at Wal-mart. Yayyyyyy.

Saturday - Went to the post office to mail some packages of stuff I sold on Ebay (my attempt at attacking debt). Wait in line behind 10 people while my children go on a rampage of touching everything (being children) and refusing to listen to me. The climax was when Cole had a complete meltdown and was laying on his back on the floor in absolute hysterics and then it was my turn to go to the counter. I asked the lady if I could leave my son in line and she said "as long as no one trips over him." Ok by me.
Stood patiently while the post office lady asked me for every package whether there was something "hazardous, liquid, or perishable" whether I wanted Insurance or delivery confirmation, and would I like to upgrade to overnight service? all while Cole is still on the floor screaming and Kailin is helping herself to a postage meter hanging on the wall and a lady in line is chastising her that the thing she is touching may be breakable. Um my answers are still No, no, andddddd no. Try to escape without making eye contact with any of the 15 people on line behind us. Decide that whatever money there is to be had on Ebay isn't worth the effort of going to the post office. Ever.

Attempt to go the Biltmore with friends Ellen, Timothy, and Jaden. Freeze our tooshies off.
Oh yeah - I forgot - It isn't April - It is February. Brrrrr. And the farm part with the animals doesn't open until noon. Wait until noon. Race around the farm with 50 other people who got there when it opened without losing any of our kids and get the heck out as fast as we can. We ended up doing drive-through McDonalds for lunch (my first dining out since Carlos left!) and parking our cars side by side in the parking lot with our windows down because neither one of us had the energy to get the kids out of the car to sit inside the restaurant like normal people do. She and I decide that we could write a book for pregnant ladies titled either "The New Normal" or "What No One Else is EVER Going to Tell You"
Get home.
Everyone naps. YAYYY!
Feel much better. Eye is on the mend.
Have picnic dinner under a tent in the living room.
Feel completely blessed.

I feel a little like this.

A little like this.

And I am craving this.

He must be my son if he has resorted to licking plastic ice cream....

T-minus three days until Carlos is home.

Day 5 Highlights

2011-02-20T20:11:00.001-05:00

So far in the past few days Kailin has told me - "Don't even look at me" and "Are you kidding me?"
I wonder what the middle school and high school years will be like because it feels like I am already living them. She has also started declaring that she is "Rusty the puppy" and I should call her that. She wants to live in a dog house and eat dog food. (Wait - Is she calling my cooking dog food?) Woof. Back to being a 2 year old.

Cole has pooped in the potty twice in one day on Friday - what???? crazy!! But not since.

Tried to take the kids to a park yesterday morning because the sun was shining. What the sun did not indicate was the below freezing wind chill. We abandoned that quickly - much to my kids annoyance. They didn't seem to notice how cold it was. I kept thinking the sun would warm things up. It never happened. I guess it is still February after all.

Went to Walmart later in the day after the park debacle because we were out of everything that my kids actually eat (milk, bread, and cheesy bunnies) and pulled up next to a parking lot cart holder and the cart I STALK was SITTING there waiting for ME. It was a mercy from the Lord in Heaven. And I praised Him for it. Unfortunately after I got home I realized I forgot to buy diapers. Sigh. Back to Walmart.

Church was good. Except I had to football carry Cole and half drag Kailin back to the car after church because they were tired and cranky and hungry. I was that mom in the church parking lot pleading with her child to please listen while I half drag her arm off in the parking lot with the other kid shoved under my other armpit while he was crying and throwing a fit. If there is one thing no one should have to do alone - it is bring home two tired, cranky, and hungry kids home after church where all they did was play and eat nilla wafers and try to feed them a decent lunch and get them to nap. IMpossible. Good thing I learned about where my bread comes from in my Bible Fellowship Group today.

Fed the kids lunch - White sticky rice, turkey meatballs, and ketchup. Yes ketchup. So you can imagine what the table and floor looked like - especially since they did not really want to eat the food after all those yummy nilla wafers at church. I got out the vacuum and went to town on the food shrapnel. White sticky rice is - surprise - sticky. In my focused efforts to clean up the rice I accidentally vacuumed up Cole's sock that he had kicked off. I keep trying to remind myself it is in there before I throw the contents away.... retrieve sock, retrieve sock.

Cole's nose started running. Again. Not the here and there dippy drips, but the full force, someone turned the nozzle on, massive sticky slime. (Like ghostbusters slime) I can suction it with the bulb syringe, but if I am not fast enough with a tissue, Cole gets his hand in there and wipes it on his face, ears, hair, hands, you name it. It just sticks and hangs there. It is nasty. And suctioning his nose sounds a lot like, well, vacuuming up a sock.

I am thankful for PBS, cereal, internet, PBS again, cheesy bunnies, my new stroller, long walks with dear friends - especially when they are not grossed out by me pulling snot from my son's nose with my fingers and wiping it on his pants, a beautiful grey sky that looked like it was watercolor painted, coffee (although I miss my barista-man Carlos), being able to skype for a few moments with Carlos - (thank you Chinese government), and for being alive today - pursuing my passions, raising the best kids ever (they are! - even if my blog sometimes says otherwise), living in this beautiful free country, worshiping corporately with my church, my family, my husband, ... the list goes on.

Generally speaking, tired, but grateful.

Still Standing

2011-02-18T20:09:00.001-05:00

Day 2.5 without Carlos.
I am T.I.R.E.D. but not conquered.
Busy day of playing, walking, chatting, driving, shopping (WEE SALE!), cooking, walking more, and on and on. And for my regular readers you may be looking at the last statement and thinking, SHOPPING? Did she just say SHOPPING? Well what the heck is that about after her rant on not spending any more money on unnecessary purchases? Well my friends, and the little voice in my head, I went to the WEE Trade (a large local consignment sale - remember this) with a mission - and my mission was accomplished. You might remember my weight loss regimen from last summer - remember the duo glider? The duo glider has been good to us. It was a hand me down from my wonderful sister-in-law - aka FREE. It fits 2 kids. It is functional. It is terrible to handle or maneuver at all - if I am on an uneven or sloped surface it takes all my upper body strength to keep it moving forward and not crashing into the ditch on the side of the road. I like to walk. It keeps me sane. Having my kids strapped into one place for 45 minutes while I get to work up a sweat and connect with nature makes me happy. So my mission was a big-wheeled stroller that was light. And I give you: The Babytrend.

I think at $50 bucks it was a good deal. If you think otherwise - just keep it to yourself.

I do wonder how hard it would have been for the previous owner to vacuum the cheerios out of the seat before putting it up for sale. That is why it is being featured in my kitchen in this photograph.

I had to give it a sponge bath.

To ration with you people still arguing with me about whether it was needed or not - I am actually selling stuff in the sale and hope to make what I spent. Fingers crossed.

My trendy look by the end of today.

Shabby chic?

Nighty night.

And please Lord - would it be possible for the kids to sleep in just a little bit tomorrow??

The haircut and more

2011-02-16T19:44:00.000-05:00

Where to start. My last post was February 1 and it feels like a year has gone by since then.
YES, I tried to cut Carlos' hair. NO, it didn't turn out so swell. YES, I was using the clippers with the different size guards. It wasn't terrible (yet) - but it was getting borderline and I didn't want to cross the line into unfixable territory. GreatClips managed to make it look good (although shorter than Carlos probably wanted..). He was so sweet about the whole thing. I asked what kind of conversation he had with his GreatClips hair-stylist - I was thinking how do you walk into a GreatClips with a baseball bat on your head, reveal what is underneath, and not mention the obvious? But he said he didn't even talk about it. Didn't mention me. Aww. I still think I can do it - I have to watch some Youtube videos or something. (No, I didn't take pictures.)
The reason behind the haircut semi-debacle is money. I am in a new place lately in many ways and it includes being completely fixated and determined to pay off our debt. I want to see in every which way (including haircuts) how we can save money and aggressively pay off what is holding us back from what we could be doing, how we could be giving, how we could be preparing for our children's future... I know the debt hinders our dreams. I am not talking about exotic vacations or fancy cars. For me, I want more than anything to develop professionally as a photographer. News flash (flash, hah- get it?) - photography is expensive. I want to be free. I don't want to come across as obsessed (although maybe I am a little..) but I know most of you understand. So from now on there will be a more serious line between "need" and "want".... who is with me?
In other news....
Carlos left today for China. The Lord is giving me strength already. Normally when he leaves for a trip I am generally pouty and weepy. Not today. I am honestly and sincerely so excited for him. I can't wait to hear about what God will do on this trip and what Carlos will experience. I know I am going to have my "moments" but right now I am taking things on small manageable time increments. Like Hugh Grant in "About A Boy" - just 30 minute increments can get you through a day. Except I am not buying trainers or getting MY hair done. (Haha)
The fact that the sun is shining and there is a glimmer of spring-like temperatures on the horizon helps a great deal. I took the kids to the Arboretum today after we dropped Carlos off at the airport. It helped me stay positive rather than be back at the house by myself. The whole place was so quiet and peaceful. At one point with the kids riding in the stroller it was completely quiet except for the birds singing and it was a beautiful moment. I tried to soak it all in. The kids had a blast running around the gardens and investigating rocks and plants. I managed to sneak in a few photos with one hand while pushing the stroller with the other hand.

Sweetness.

Prettiness.

Peacefulness.

Thanks for checking in with Magnificent Mom Moments - blogging is going to take a back seat to my desire to grow and develop in my photography and graphic design, but I will still be around. I have to have some place to vent all my calamities!

How to Wake Up

2011-02-01T07:45:00.000-05:00

Here Tiffany - this one is for you. Another excerpt from "Never Hit a Jellyfish with a Spade"

How to Wake Up

Waking up in the morning is like a little birth: sometimes it's very quick and easy, and sometimes it takes many false alarms, a lot of pushing and hours of labour.

There is a very small group of people who love those quiet, peaceful moments just before the dawn. No one really knows who these people are because the rest of us are all

fast asleep. A clue as to who they are comes later in the day when, just after half past seven in the evening, they say goodnight.

Some lucky people have a body clock that wakes them up precisely on time; they then feel fresh as a daisy and spring out of bed. It's great if your partner is like this when they

bring you tea; it's not so good when they pull the whole duvet off and say anything which includes the phrase 'Rise and shine'.

People who have difficulty getting up have devised all sorts of foolproof ways of getting themselves out of bed.

Alarm clocks which would wake the dead are great, especially if you place them out of arm's reach. However, when these go off they give you such a profound shock you have

to go back to bed for an hour to get over the trauma. Lots of people have radio-alarms which wake you up to a tiny snatch of music before you hit the snooze button. You'll

know what that tiny snatch was when you're on the train an hour later singing 'A Little Bit of Monica' to yourself. Once out of bed, there are two approaches to the day. The first is getting washed, dressed and out of the door in fifteen minutes. The second is to have a leisurely bath, choose what you're going to wear, make a cup of tea and watch a bit of breakfast TV. The bizarre thing about the second approach is that you need to get up nearly two hours earlier to allow yourself time to be leisurely.

Of course, it all boils down to whether you're a morning person or a night person. Morning people are at their physical and mental peak between seven and eleven in the morning,

and night people are at their peak between seven and eleven at night. Sadly, the office generally isn't open between seven and eleven at night, so we all know which group are

keeping the economy moving single-handed. If you don't think anything will get you up in the mornings, simply have a small child. Then you will be able to get up quickly and efficiently, and you'll be able to do this six or seven times every night.

How to be Tired

2011-01-28T14:12:00.003-05:00

I am re-reading a book my sister gave me awhile ago because it makes me laugh. And lately it feels good to zone out and laugh at something other than my crazy days. Some of the phrases might seem odd because the author is British - but the humor is outstanding. And this particular passage speaks to me today - maybe because when I went to AutoZone to get windshield wipers the checkout guy mentioned it looked like I needed a nap. Thanks dude. Just what every lady with two kids running around your store and fingering the candy wants to hear. Even if it is the truth. Truth hurts. If you want to make pleasant checkout conversation, please discuss the weather. Or my brand new windshield wipers. Not the bags under my eyes. Thanks.

An excerpt from "Never Hit a Jellyfish with a Spade - How to Survive Life's Smaller Challenges" by Guy Browning

How to.... Be Tired.

Research has shown that a third of one's life is spent asleep. Another third is spent feeling like it would be nice to go back to bed. The final third is spent hoping that it will soon be time to go to bed. Feeling tired is like being up and about but still having your brain under the duvet. People who do the least get the most tired.

Teenagers often have to go back to bed to cope with the exhaustion brought on by the trauma of getting up. When you're really tired, even the thought of doing something is exhausting. In fact, doing something is generally less tiring than thinking about doing something. Smiling is supposed to be good for you because it exercises many of the facial muscles. On the other hand, trying to keep your eyes open when you're exhausted uses every single one of the facial muscles, which is why it's impossible to smile at the same time. No surprise then that the fIrst casualty of tiredness is charm. There's no such thing as an insomniac charmer. As you get more and more tired, you can't say anything charming, then you can't say anything interesting, then anything nice, followed by anything intelligible, and finally anything at all because if you moved your mouth your eyes would close.

There is a phrase which says that when you're tired of London you're tired of life. This explains why people on the Underground generally look suicidal. There's another phrase,

'Tired of Swindon, get a life', but that's slightly different. They also say 'early to bed, early to rise, makes you healthy, wealthy and wise' - hence the national glut of rich philosopher-milkmen. A better phrase would be the complete opposite: 'late to bed, late to rise, makes you unhealthy, poor and stupid'. It won't be long before beds carry a government health warning- 'Sleeping in Kills'. A nasty condition some people suffer from is when you get too tired to sleep. This is where the whole business of putting your head on the pillow and falling asleep is just too much effort to go through with. Equally nasty is feeling tired when you get up in the morning. This is like feeling dirty when you get out of the shower: you feel well and truly cheated. Some people can catnap for ten minutes and then carry on as fresh as a daisy. For most normal people, having a nap is like a tiredness enhancer. You get fleeting pleasure from falling asleep, but then you wake up three hours later with a hangover, cramp, dry mouth, dead leg, gummy eye, and your important meeting sitting quietly in your office wondering if you're dead.

I wondered

2011-01-26T22:11:00.001-05:00

I had lots of random events and thoughts today. Nothing earth shattering. Just the usual fun stuff in the middle of the day to day ordinary stuff.
This morning Kailin wanted to read bible stories. As we were reading she spilled her milk. Then she started telling me that Jesus was in her wet wipe I gave her to clean up her spilled milk. I wasn't sure how to react to that, and I didn't want to laugh out loud - because WHO KNOWS what a two year old and Jesus have going on.
Went to Sam's Club and Wal-mart in the pouring rain and on the way noticed my windshield wiper was torn. Good timing since I was already on the way to the store! So I made a mental note to buy windshield wipers. Did our shopping thing- managed to make it in the store and out of the rain toting two kids without getting (terribly) drenched. On a side note - I stalk a particular shopping cart at Wal-mart. The store only has one because they are demo-ing it (I know because I asked), but it is the best one for multiple children. The straps are actually intact and buckle properly and the kids are faced out over the cart sitting side by side where they can watch where we are going - unlike the other ones where they face each other at my knee level and get bored and hence play "how much can we beat on each other" throughout every shopping trip. I wondered how many other moms stalk the shopping cart like I do.
I was so proud of myself because I remembered to buy 2 birthday cards and a sympathy card even when it wasn't on my shopping list. Realized as I drove out of the parking lot and turned my windshield wipers on that I forgot to buy windshield wipers. Realized when I got home and unpacked everything that the 2 birthday cards and sympathy card never made it into my bags. I wondered what the heck happened to my cards and if the check-out girl might feel badly about the situation. Sigh.
Decided coffee would make it better. Heat up coffee, forgot it was in the microwave.
10 minutes later.
Reheat.
Got the kids a snack and tried to translate what Cole was grunting for and what Kailin was talking about.
She wanted the "Beautiful Chex" - translation? Frosted shredded wheats. Makes sense to me now although it took awhile. Never did figure out what Cole was wanting and although I tried and tried he just cried for 20 minutes. Cleaned up after snack. Wondered how many other moms clean most surfaces in their homes regularly with baby wipes. Filled kettle to make tea. After awhile wondered what was taking so long for the water to heat up. Realized I forgot to turn on the burner.
I wondered when I was going to start remembering things.
Sat down at the computer and managed to get a little bit of work done. Actually set up a facebook page for KQconcepts. I wondered what it actually means to have people "like" you on facebook. Worked on another graphic design project and needed a wallpaper pattern. I think it is funny that when I search for "wallpaper" I get more results for computer screen decor than actual stuff you would hang on your wall. Found out I had to use the word "vintage" or "antique" to find what I was looking for. Suddenly felt old. Wondered why wallpaper made me feel old... that and my knee has been hurting for a week or more...
I wondered why my knee is hurting.
Wondered how I can keep up with everything.
Wondered why I blog.
Wondered if I need to blog for KQconcepts.
Wondered if I should say goodbye to Magnificent Mom Moments.
Wondered what to do next.
Wondered what might be coming next.
Wondered when my thoughts will stop bouncing around in my head like a ping pong ball.

Wondered how this girl can keep getting more and more beautiful, even with a chocolate covered chin.

Guest Post: Top 10 Disgusting Things

2011-01-19T20:12:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone,
Sorry for a lack of postings. I have been under the weather literally and literally. (12 inches of snow and then a major knockdown sinus infection with the cough of death - and Cole had an ear infection and Kailin fighting off an eye infection... yay.)
So in my re cooperating laziness here is a guest post I think ALLLL moms can relate to.
To introduce: Stephanie and I go wayyyyy back. Yes that is 5 y's for that. Her parents were friends with my parents in their pre-children lives. If I wasn't so lazy I should have dug out an embarrassing picture of her and I from childhood using our crazy imaginations in my front yard doing who knows what - it would have been a nice touch to this post. Oh well. Laziness wins.
I wish we lived closer (come to think of it - we never did live close together) but I have a feeling we are incredibly kindred spirits and moms even far apart. I pray for her and enjoy the fact that we have facebook and blogs to just be able to touch on what her life is like now.
Her post made me laugh - I hope you enjoy it to.
I would like to chime in my first "gross" mom moment didn't actually directly involve one of my children:
It was a month after Kailin was born and it was around 11:00 p.m. and I was probably getting ready for bed. I can't remember all the details, but the jist is that I started hemorrhaging. Blood pouring down my legs was an instant clue that something was not right and I made it to the toilet as fast as I possibly could. There I was sitting on the toilet, bleeding, with Carlos (and I) freaking out trying to figure out what to do - and Kailin wakes up. What does a one month old usually want when she wakes up at 11:00p.m.? A midnight snack. Carlos (still rightfully freaking out) kept asking me what I wanted to do. I remember very vividly saying "Well, if I am headed to the hospital we can have a hungry, crying baby or a fed, sleeping baby. What do you want?" And he immediately got Kailin and gave her to me. And there I sat on the toilet, hemorrhaging, and breast feeding my one month old. It was then I realized I was a mom. This is what moms do. They put their kids first and ignore the fact that the bathroom is a bloody mess and I feel like I am going to pass out.
I also remember thinking, "Nobody told me about this part... nobody told me this could happen....nobody told me......."
Enough of that story (maybe I will tell the rest of the tale another time). Nobody tells you when you are pregnant that most of your time when baby arrives will involve bodily fluids (and solids) - On to the stories of poop!

Top Ten Most Disgusting Things I Have Had To Do As A Mother

Stephanie

Usually, I post when I feel I have something worthy to share with the world. Something uplifting, encouraging, eloquent…you know, worth your limited time. But after a particularly disgusting “mom weekend” I have decided to change it up with a look into the less glamorous parts of motherhood. Beware, you won’t find any words of wisdom or heart-warming stories in this post. But, you parents out there should enjoy a good laugh in knowing you are not alone in the “hazmat” duty we are forced to perform as mothers (and fathers; but, really, mothers – we all know who gets stuck with the (ahem) unpleasantside of child-rearing!) Please post some of your own gross motherhood moments that have made you think, “I can’t believe I am doing this!”

So here it is! The Top Ten Most DISGUSTING Things I Have Had To Do As A Mother…

10) Decided which pants I should wear for the day by determining which baby bodily fluid stain disgusted me least — poop, pee, or spit-up. (Baby spit-up won – in case you were wondering.)

9) Caught baby poop in my hands as my naked 9-month-old squatted underneath my desk and attempted to defecate on my computer’s power strip (after he had already peed on aforementioned power strip).

Gotten a mouth full of pee during a diaper change. You pansies with girls have no idea what I am talking about. You need DEFENSE against those little suckers… and to think I originally mocked the “pee-pee teepee”.

7) Stuck elbow deep in a toilet after my toddler shoved massive amounts of toilet paper and various other bathroom accouterments into the toilet…correction, a USED toilet, we’re talkin’ #2 here people.

6) Caught puke in my hands…once, twice, three times (a lady…). I’ve lost count how many times I have caught puke. My average for perfect puke catching reflexes is impressive. My children’s aim, on the other hand, sucks.

5) Pulled puke chunks out of an overflowing sink after my child profusely vomited into the sink instead of toilet, clogged the drain and then overflowed the sink by turning the water on (to “help”) while the drain was clogged. Oh, wait! That wasn’t my children – that was my husband! Yes, honey, “I must really love you.” (Although I have discovered from my puke cleaning episodes that neither my children NOR my husband have mastered the art of CHEWING.)

4) Wiped butt…after butt…after butt…after butt. In fact, I’ve wiped so many butts I could write a book about techniques in butt wiping. There’s the “Touch your toes buddy!” maneuver , the “Toilet Seat Shuffle” (which always ends up with more poop on the seat than the paper), and the ever popular “Pin Naked Child To The Floor Screaming After They Have Used the Living Room Carpet as Toilet Paper” karate move.

3) Inspected poop of all shapes and sizes. Why? Because every mother is weirdly obsessed with (and sometimes proud of) their child’s feces. A phenomenon that can only be understood once one becomes a parent.

2) Collect stool samples from an uncooperative (sorta toilet trained) child in which the sample “can not touch the toilet water” and must be “freshly caught and delivered to the laboratory within 24 hours” (Wait a minute, am I fishing or putting feces into test tubes with a little plastic shovel?).

I know, I know. I talk a lot about poop. (I hope I didn’t catch you at mealtime.) I can’t help the poop-talk. It takes up a large portion of my day. Thankfully, the percentage of which is shrinking as my children get older. I promise – no more poop anecdotes! Are you ready for #1? Drum roll please…

1) CHILDBIRTH!!! Yeah, yeah, I know – it’s a magical thing. But, let’s get real here, it’s D-I-S-G-U-S-T-I-N-G! There’s the whole pregnancy part that makes you gassier than a frat boy and eat amounts/types/combos of food typically reserved for “Fear Factor”. And let’s not forget the fact that every few weeks some stranger’s hand is up your yoohoo checking things like “mucus plugs” and “membrane elasticity”. Childbirth — ahhh… so beautiful; and yet, it often starts with vomiting, diarrhea, and a deluge of fluids you never knew existed. A process so messy that my OB has to change socks between each delivery and is dressed like a hockey goalie while catching my baby. A process so gruesome that the bathroom I used after the birth of my first son looked like the scene from a macabre horror flick – bloody hand prints on the wall and all. And what’s this about a placenta??? (Made them show me it the last time around. It’s enough to gross out any pre-pubescent boy. Fun Fact: Did you know some people decoupage their placenta and make it into a modern art piece??!!) And, let’s not even go into what happens to our bodiesafter the birth that no one, and I mean NO ONE, warns us about. Misplaced organs, peeing your pants, hemorrhoids, varicose veins …pooping your pants!!! Uh-oh, I’m back to the poop. If it’s not our child’s its our own. I guess we can’t escape it.

My existential piece of wisdom for you today is simple:

Parenting = poop

(Visit Stephanie's blog here)

Renovations

2011-01-10T13:20:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, Carlos and I (mostly Carlos) worked on renovating our house for about a year. At first we couldn't live in it because we (Carlos) completely converted the garage into a master bedroom and gutted the kitchen and started from scratch. Many of you also know we have now been living in the house since late August. Yay! It has been wonderful. I call it the "perfect" house. I know it isn't really perfect, but for me it meets all my needs. I am sure some of you could relate to the fact that towards the end of the renovations, not everything got done because we were focused on just being able to move in. Dealing with the big stuff to pass inspection and then planning on dealing with the small stuff once we are in. Now that we have been living in the house though, the small stuff tends to be overlooked on a day to day basis. We met the large goal - moving in the house - now we are comfortable. So the kids bathroom still doesn't have a shower curtain, the window curtain is held up by thumb tacks, the light fixtures in the old part of the house don't have glass domes covering the bulbs, the trim around the kitchen window isn't filled in, the tub needs caulking, the outside of the windows need cleaning,.... I could go on, but my point is not to make you aware of all the unfinished business in my house or to make my husband feel like I am picking on him.
I could pick up a drill and do something about this list too. However I think I have identified three reasons that "keep" me (us) from doing so:
1. I don't feel like I am capable of doing some of the needed work.
2. Time (kids, work, cooking, cleaning, managing.... etc etc)
3. I am comfortable

I think anyone would understand and appreciate the first two - either you drill the hole correctly in the wall for a shower curtain or you make swiss cheese of your walls - so better to let a more experienced person handle it right? And when it comes to life, I think everyone would also understand the time issue - who has time to worry about caulk with everything else going on in life?
The third one is the one I really need to be worried about.
Here is where I am going with this:
My point is not home renovations but where I am spiritually in my life.
I am comfortable.
I have met "a goal" and I am living in my ways and I can't remember the last time I picked up a tool with an intentional effort to challenge myself and change something to better myself. Sure I go to church. Sure I read the bible. Sure I fellowship with other believers. Sure I pray. But I know I have lost sight of the fact that I am a work in progress with a goal - to be more like Christ everyday.
Not once every couple of years.
Not every couple of months.
DAILY.

"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:18

Notice something in there?
How about the word ever-increasing?
How am I spiritually different from last year?
Or the year before? I am not sure I can answer that question.
In a word - I am lukewarm.

"So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth." Revelation 3:16

I know when Carlos and I have a house party - all of a sudden completing that "to do" list becomes a lot more important to us. We scramble around in the week leading up to it to make the house more "finished." However, when it comes to your spiritual life, you don't might not get the the heads up that the party is coming. My life could be over tomorrow and I don't even know it.
I can keep using my three excuses of my capabilities, my time, and my laziness (comfort) and stay the same in my status quo or I can be transformed into the likeness of Christ.
I will end this post with a quote I heard on the radio the other night -

"Would you rather the pain of discipline or the pain of regret?"

Thanks for reading.

Pink Pull-Ups

2011-01-08T15:58:00.000-05:00

Just thought how I would share what Cole wears lately.

(and if he was old enough he would probably be totally mortified)

He is now to the age where he needs some extra absorbency (a night-time diaper) when he sleeps at night.

Night-time diapers are (like most diapers) expensive!

SOOOO when I realized we had a huge bag from my sister-in-law (thanks Claud!) of size 4-5 pink princess Pull-Ups left over from potty training days of my niece - I thought - heck, practically the same thing as an overnight diaper! And who would know under pajamas anyway?

(unless I blog about it or something.... oh wait.)

The funny thing is he kind of groans and pulls on them every time we put them on.

Oh well. It won't last forever buddy!

Here is my son tolerating my thrifty ways - and Kailin checking out the pretty princesses. We have to keep reassuring her they are just diapers and not special panties that she is missing out on.

What a cute pink tooshie.

Yes.

Not one, or two, but THREE pretty princesses.

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

Little Momma

2011-01-03T12:58:00.000-05:00

Kailin has fallen in love with a doll all over.

She got this baby doll - last Christmas maybe? - from one of my co-workers.

Liked it. Played with it sometimes.

Then recently my friend Christi came over with her newborn baby girl Ivi.

Kailin was totally absorbed by the (real) baby Ivi while she slept.

Wanted to touch her, rock her in her car-seat, tuck her in, make sure her shoes were on ok..., etc.

Maybe it was because she was real.

(Although Kailin has met babies before.... )

Maybe because she was a girl.

For whatever reason - Kailin talked about baby Ivi all the time - and THEN...

she re-found her baby doll and named her Ivi.

She drags Ivi all over the house, feeds her, changes her diaper, dresses her, undresses her, (asks me to dress her), tells her to "shush", tucks her into bed, carries on conversations with her, and mimics everything else she has heard me say and do with Cole.

I think (fake) Ivi has even had a few time-outs.

Meet (fake) baby Ivi

Time to play.

Diaper changing.

Bedime.

With a car of course.

Diaper changing again.

Yikes that looks rough.

Kailin is my little momma.

No denying the girl inside this girl.

She wants to care for and nurture this baby doll with everything she has.

Until Cole shows up with the train set.

Then Ivi takes a rest.

Another transition

2010-12-29T14:18:00.001-05:00

I have been holding out on you readers. A very big transition happened in our house just before Christmas and I haven't said a word. (drum roll please)
(and I know in the scheme of things... it isn't THAT big... but for me - right now - it is something)
Kailin is now sleeping in her very own BIG GIRL BED. woah.
I wasn't sure what to expect. We had tried this when we first moved into our house, but didn't have any success. Looking back, it was too much transition all at once with a new house and a new room and a new bed. She wasn't ready. Not to mention I wasn't ready for the freedom that comes with a big girl bed. So we took the bed apart and stored it the basement. Recently I became increasingly aware that it was getting harder and harder for me to lug Kailin in and out of her crib. I just knew it was time.
She was ready - even if I wasn't. Time to buck up and face the change.
There isn't space in her room to keep a crib and the bed - so there is no overlapping to see what works and what doesn't. We just went for it. The same day Carlos put together the bed, we just looked at each other and said "Ok - here we go." and Carlos took apart the crib.
Kailin LOVES her new bed.
She has been so cute snuggling, playing, and reading in her bed.
It did mean time-outs for jumping or standing on the bed, and the first night she did roll out of the bed once onto the floor (hasn't happened again!). She has not been napping as much due to the freedom to get up and play with everything in her room. However, on the plus side - this means that she is super tired at night and we haven't had any trouble getting her to go to bed and stay in bed. I give the Good NiteLite a LOT of credit for helping with her understanding to stay in her room in the morning until the "sun comes up".
All in all, it has been a fairly smooth ordeal.
Another step for my big girl.
Another step for mom.

We will work on making the bed later on.

Kendra - KQconcepts

2010-12-28T19:41:00.000-05:00

I know my sister Kendra will not be a huge fan of this post because it features her - but I am going to do it anyway. Like most females, she can be hard on herself and not see her true beauty that glows from inside to the outside. Maybe you can help me by commenting and sharing with her just how stunning of a person she is.

I wanted to do a photo shoot for her that matched the style of mine (seen here) to complete a birthday/Christmas present for my mom and dad. Natural light. Check. Window. Check.

Me trying to act like the goofy big sister to coax out a natural smile. Yep.

She is radiant.

She is a natural beauty.

She can be goofy too.

She is thoughtful & intelligent.

She is constantly doing things to improve herself as a person and being the best Kendra she can be.

At work

Living in NYC

Cooking

Knitting

Sewing

Quilting

Crocheting (I had to look up how to even spell that)

Photography

Pottery

Running (or maybe walking...)

Biking

Yoga

(see her portfolio here)

She is graceful.

She is a laughing, life-loving person making the most of everything.

She is a true renaissance woman.

And even looks like one too.

She is my lovely sister.

Kendra I love you.

Visit www.KQconcepts.com to see more.

"Illusion of Control"

2010-12-27T20:27:00.004-05:00

What would a mom-blog be without a belated Merry Christmas post? I could tell you all of our happy Christmas day moments (and there were lots), how Kailin wanted to "help" open EVERY present (she was very helpful) or how we got snowed into my parents house (but happily were prepared). I would instead like to revisit the Christmas story.
I would like to share from a book I am re-reading for the fourth time, "When The Game Is Over It All Goes Back In The Box" by John Ortberg. This book is an excellent reminder of what we should be living for and is probably why I keep re-reading it. The author uses the analogy of playing monopoly to compare to how we live our lives. This particular excerpt is from Chapter six titled:

"Resign As Master Of The Board"
"It came to pass that the most powerful man in the world sat on a throne in Rome. This man literally ruled the known world. He ruled the rulers. He was the "king of kings." His government built statues of him to venerate. By the end of his life, people were worshiping him. Ever have that happen? Come in to work, go to your cubicle, have coworkers bow down: "Not worthy ... "
Caesar did. At one point he had a standing army of 500,000 soldiers- that took a lot of money. Caesar was a smart man, and we're told by an ancient historian that one day Caesar had an idea for how to pay his many soldiers: ''And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed." Caesar at this time was around sixty years old. Perhaps no human being before or after ever held so much control over so much of the world so tightly for so long. "There went out a decree .... " He just lifted a finger, said a word, and the whole world scrambled to obey. Yes, Luke the historian says, watch what happens now. Now things start to get interesting. Author Tom Wright puts it like this: "This man, this king, this absolute monarch lifts his finger in Rome and 1500 miles away in an obscure province a poverty-stricken couple undertake a hazardous journey, at the whim of a king." Notice the result: a child is born in a little town that-oh, by the way-just happens to be the one mentioned in an ancient Hebrew prophecy about the coming of the Messiah. The ancient prophecy said the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. But Joseph and Mary didn't live in Bethlehem. They never would have gone there. Except - "it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus .... "

Why did it come to pass?

Caesar would have told you that it was because of him. Caesar made a call. Caesar was in control. But Luke raises a question: What king is at work here? Whose will is actually being done? Who is the real Master of the Board? This account is really the tale of two cities. Rome is the site of one kind of kingdom, peace, and glory. Bethlehem is a kingdom of another kind. Money, soldiers, palaces, titles, Boardwalk, and Park Place are all in Rome. Bethlehem was all stables and mangers and donkeys and shepherds. But the angels weren't singing in Rome. They were singing in Bethlehem. Caesar thought his throne in Rome was as secure as a throne could be. But the kingdom was lying in a manger in Bethlehem. Caesar has one palace left in the world. It's not in Rome but in Vegas, its glory is its glitter, and it's funded by control-deluded suckers who have yet to learn the one rule that odds makers got from John Calvin: in the long run, you can't beat the house. The baby in the manger is enthroned in hearts and lives and houses of worship on every continent in the world. How did that come to pass?

The Illusion of Control

One of the strongest of myths is the illusion of control. "I am in control" is not just a lie; author Ernest Becker called this the vital lie because we need it for our egos to survive. "We don't want to admit that we are fundamentally dishonest about reality, that we do not control our lives, that we always rely on something that transcends us." He says that man will use the power of money, or a string of sexual conquests, or relationships with important people, or a prestigious job, or his ability to learn, to make him feel that "he controls his life and death ... he is a somebody-not just a trembling accident germinated on a hothouse planet that [Thomas] Carlyle for all time called a 'hall of doom.' "

But we are not in control."

OK people- are you challenged? Feeling something?

Who wants to make New Years Resolutions with me now? Control much?

Feeling like lightening your grip on your life yet?

More excerpts to come.....

the Kohl's event

2010-12-22T06:30:00.000-05:00

I should have never gone in the first place. There was NO reason for me to go. Except that
every year as Christmas approaches I start feeling more and more uncertain and insecure about the gifts I already have for everyone. I start to think they aren't enough, they don't have enough meaning, they are just small and handmade and usually photography based (again and again) - you get the picture. This year is no different, except that I have started feeling bad that Carlos and I didn't get a lot for the kids. They are already getting so much - I just didn't see the need at first. But now the little voice in my head was telling me I am a bad parent to not have presents for my kids. So after heading to Asheville for another errand, I decided to go to Kohl's with my 20% coupon and see if the children's clothing was on clearance and what toys might be on sale, as well as scoping out if there was anything else for OTHER people that might be a good deal. This was ambitious with two children. I know. I went armed with snacks, but the first thing that happened in the first 5 minutes we were in the store was I realized I hadn't gone to the bathroom all morning. (This happens a lot as a mom - you sacrifice your bathroom time because it isn't worth the hassle) There wasn't any putting off the call of nature this time so I hauled both the kids down to the customer service area to see a single woman stepping into the family bathroom. The one intended for people with kids. Pet peeve. PET PEEVE. This is a public service announcement: Just because you want more airy space or you think it is cleaner, or whatever reason you have - please please please leave the family bathrooms available for moms hauling children. Thank you. Back to my story: I couldn't wait for selfish bathroom lady. We went to the regular bathroom stalls where I had to jam me, Kailin, and the shopping cart with Cole all inside the handicapped stall. The fun of having a toddler is that she likes to play with the latch on the door while I am doing my business. This creates lots of fun conversation for other people in the bathroom to overhear. "Kailin - please leave the door alone - Kailin, KAILIN - LEAVE It - PLEASE don't touch it. NONONO mommy isn't DONE yet. I am STILL PUTTING MY PANTS ON!"
After I made it through that I gave shopping one more try and quickly decided to cut it short and abort my shopping mission. It wasn't worth it. No present for anyone was worth it.
I got to the sidewalk where two very nice people driving stopped to let me cross. I was carrying Cole and holding Kailin's hand when Cole decided he would rather walk. Only his way of deciding that he would rather walk was to hurl his whole body weight towards the ground. So there I am in the middle of the parking lot holding up traffic with my son dangling head first towards the ground while I hold him one handed. My only option (that happened in an instant) was to take my other hand from Kailin and grab him before he cracked his head open on the pavement. However, the jolt of me taking my hand away from Kailin upset her balance and she went face first into the pavement. Now she is screaming and crying, and Cole is walking on his merry way in the other direction across the parking lot and I am scrambling trying to pick her up and capture him before he walks up to one of the cars waiting for me to get out of the way. I got it together. The whole event took maybe 3 minutes - but it felt like eternity. It is one of those moments where you are trying not to make eye contact with the people in their cars still waiting for you to move.
Ahhh those magnificent moments.

Monkeys jumping on the bed

2010-12-21T06:30:00.001-05:00

Here are my monkeys jumping on Cole's bed.

I know this isn't normally encouraged, but today was the kind of day where they just need to blow off energy and I need to solidify my chances of both of them napping at the same time.

Me blogging now means I was successful.

Big sister is always full of ideas.

I think this is Cole's Titanic moment - "I'm King of the world!"

First Haircut(s)

2010-12-20T14:06:00.000-05:00

I got it in my head that enough was enough - the kids needed haircuts badly and my skills were no longer up to par to do the job. (skills? what skills?) Ok - I may have some skills, but they are not in the haircutting department. There was no way I wanted to attempt this venture alone. So on first thing Saturday morning we did all our major grocery shopping at Wal-mart to beat the crowds and then after the kids napped in the afternoon Carlos and I carpe diem'd and headed out to Great Clips around 3:30 p.m.
Since I am new at the business of getting the kids haircuts I really didn't know where else to go. I even called ahead to Great Clips to make sure they were 'prepared' for a one and a two year old at the same time. The girl on the phone reassured me 'no problem - we do this all the time' - in a tone that made me feel like like the amateur I am. She was even kind enough to let me know that the wait was about 20 minutes and there was no way that they took appointments. Ok. I get it. We hopped in the car and prepped Kailin all way there for what was going to happen. We walked into the hair salon and I immediately saw all available waiting seats taken and ONE stylist just getting started on a ladies hair. Um? 20 minute wait? The girl said in a non-feeling voice "sorry, we are short staffed - it will be an hour or more. But you could come back in an hour." Yeahhhhh - thanks but no thanks. And when I called earlier (like 10 minutes ago) and you mentioned the 20 minute wait? Was there a Christmas crowd rush to Great Clips at 3:30 in the afternoon? I had a one year old and a two year old it didn't occur to you that an hour wait might be a bit too much? (Carlos and I are convinced they must fudge the wait time just to get you to walk in the door.)
We left.
We consulted the (sometimes) handy crackberry (blackberry) and found low and behold there was only one other walk-in family hair salon in the area - where? Wal-mart. Sheesh. Back to Wal-mart.
The whole experience went as well as one could expect. Cole sat on my lap facing me and managed to sit somewhat still for the 10 minutes it took to cut his hair. Considering how nervous the hair dresser was (who once again had reassured me that he cuts kids hair all the time... but I didn't really believe him based on how his hands were shaking) it didn't come out all bad. It was a major improvement over the shag that was sticking out in the back all the time before. I did trim around his ears again once we got home because I think the hair dresser was afraid he was going to Van-Gogh Cole or something.
Kailin sat on Carlos' lap and was done in less than 2 minutes. (Wha?) I had asked the guy (a different hairdresser guy) to frame her face and clean up her bangs and the ends - and after the speediest haircut ever - it looks choppy at best. He joked with ME to stay away from her with scissors - but C'MON! I could have done what he did and saved myself $10 bucks. The only thing that saves it (slightly) is her curls and general cuteness. I also retouched it a bit, but there isn't much to be done except let it grow. Plus side - we survived another magnificent moment first with no meltdowns and no tantrums, and as it turns out Carlos bribed Kailin into having her haircut by promising her ice cream so after we paid we headed to the dairy aisle to pick out our Breyers. Happy ending.

Before:

After:

You tell me - a little choppy?

Before:

After:

Boy-cut.

Cole (& Kailin) - KQconcepts

2010-12-19T06:25:00.001-05:00

Stay inside type of day.

I love my kids.

I love taking photos.

I love taking photos of my kids!

(Someday they will appreciate all these memories.)

And for a change - Cole was totally working the camera and Kailin wanted nothing to do with it.

Just like daddy's eyes.

Saying "cheeeese"

3 guesses on the word coming out of Kailin's mouth at this moment.

I love this face.

And this one.

He is such a sweetheart.

Still not looking at me.

And I think this photo encapsulates the expression

"The cat that ate the canary"

or something like that.

I love taking photos!

Please consider me for capturing your memories.

www.KQconcepts.com

Baby steps

2010-12-18T06:47:00.003-05:00

Thursday was a *different* day. Because of the *potentially* hazardous icy roads (which apparently there were some places, but all I saw was rain....) schools in our area were delayed by two hours. This throws a big curveball to me because it means that Kailin's school is delayed, but Cole's babysitting program is cancelled and I still have to work a full day. Hmmm. Thank goodness for flexible grandparents who love my kids. I do not like throwing unexpexted babysitting situation at them because I don't like feeling like I am taking advantage, but sometimes it can not be helped. And thank goodness for flexible employers who know I will get the work done. ANYway -we got it sorted out and Cole was able to stay with my parents and Kailin and I went off on a late start to her beloved WEE school. It was the last day before their Christmas break so they were celebrating with a party. I have only visited Kailin in her classroom once before and that time she communicated loud and clear that she wasn't ready to go home (even though I wasn't there to take her home) and that I should be on my merry way. I wasn't sure what to expect this time, but when I walked in the classroom Kailin did what every parent loves and yelled "Mommy!" and ran over to me for a big hug. We sat together until her teachers finished welcoming us and explained that they were going to give us an idea of what a normal class day would be like. They called the children over to their table and had them go through some of the normal daily activities, routines, and songs that the kids do regularly. I watched as she listened to the bible story, answered questions, and got up to participate in interactive actitivities. I couldn't stop smiling. As the kids were participating, Kailin would glance over and check on me. Once she saw that I had all my focus on her, she would give me a huge smile. She was so happy and proud that I was there for her. And I was so proud of her. It was one of those parent moments where you are overwhelmed by this little person who is growing up right in front of you day by day. It reflects everything you have poured into this little being and shows you the heart and person that she is now and is becoming. It was a wonderful moment. One of those moments that again reminds me of how our Heavenly Father feels about me - that He delights in ME. Is incredibly proud and filled with joy over ME. This feeling in my heart only makes me feel more filled with joy and pride to look up to my heavenly Father and call Him Dad! It is a circle effect that just keeps going round and round. And I think John Piper sums it up when he says this: At root, what God delights in about us is that we delight in him. (You can see the rest of his thoughts on this topic here.)
I never claim to be a theologian, or incredibly deep, (and I get nervous writing about God and sharing it with others hoping I don't botch my words) - but I am trying to remind myself (and maybe you) that it begins with delighting in our Lord. Being aware that He is present with you, watching and waiting like a proud parent, waiting to see what you might do next. Not as a Santa Clause figure - tallying up your wrongs and rights - but watching with the unconditional love and pride that a parent has for their child. I want to make Him proud of me. To reflect glory back to Him by living everthing that He has taught me. I am not so grown-up spiritually most days, but I am taking my little baby steps and hoping they turn into bigger strides.

An ornament Kailin made at school.

(with help from Ms. Bass and Ms. Young)

Caleb- KQconcepts

2010-12-17T14:44:00.000-05:00

I just realized I never blogged about this sweet boy and our photo shoot!

Shame on me.

For those who didn't check out the website:

Meet Caleb.

A quiet, thoughtful and ACTIVE boy.

(What boy isn't?)

He wasn't so sure about me and my funny camera business at first, but he warmed up as things went along. (and after I gave him toys, a truck, a banana, jumped around like a funny lunatic, and let him climb on the furniture - hey - whatever works!)

I think we were all laughing.

Caleb has two wonderful parents, Shannan and Todd,

who love him with every ounce of love they have.

And he adores them.

You can tell immediately.

The happy family!

Hello blue eyes.

My very favorite.

I think this may have been the only time he smiled right at the camera.

Got it!

What a cutie.

Even though he kept me on my toes - I loved every minute of it.

I really do love taking pictures of children - if you or someone you know are interested in my services, please contact me at kqconcepts@hotmail.com.

Thanks for reading!

Christmas crafting

2010-12-17T06:30:00.003-05:00

A friend recently complimented me on how good I was to do things at home regularly that teach and engage my kids. I have to say to that - I am completely selfish. I do it for my sanity. If I didn't have something planned to do - we would all go mad. And if I left the tv on all day - we would also all go mad. A day with nothing planned is a day where the kids get bored, beat on each other, I get mad/frustrated and it takes everything I have not to beat on them.
Here is something I recently did with Kailin that was SO EASY. And I didn't think of it myself.
No excuses here really.
(And I was wary at first about something that only called for 2 ingredients - but it worked.)

Apple Cinnamon Ornaments: (as taken from an old Highlights magazine)
1/4 Cup Cinnamon
4 Tablespoons Applesauce

Now mix.

4 easy steps.

The rolling pin wasn't really even that helpful.

Looks like thick brownie batter.

Smushing with hands between wax paper was a lot easier than the rolling pin.

The happy smusher.

And you don't even have to worry if some of the "dough" mysteriously disappears.

All our cutouts (yes I missed making a hole in one of the gingerbread men)

We even sprinked ours with glitter to make them festive.

I will probably brush a top coat of mod podge over them to keep the glitter from falling off everywhere.

And they are giving my laundry room a delightful cinnamon smell as they dry!

Now you have something to do with your kids this weekend.

No excuses.

Just me

2010-12-15T14:03:00.000-05:00

I had a friend recently tell me one of her pet peeves was getting Christmas cards from her far away friends that only had pictures of the friend's children on it. She explained how she likes that her friends have children, and appreciates the kid pics, but would rather see the smiling face of the person she came to know in the first place.
I smiled and nodded.
Then she looked at me and said, "you do that, don't you?"
Yup.
We laughed. No hard feelings. Especially since I just did a photo shoot for her and her family. (your secret is safe with me Ellen) I spend a lot of time behind the camera and not a lot of time in front of it.
Besides, my kids are cuter and get far more smiles at them than I do on any given day.
SOOOO to appease allllll of you throngs of readers out there who are just dying to see my mug shot, here you go. People who haven't seen (or talked to) me since high school or college, friends and family members who live far away, my co-workers who usually just see me running past them in the hallway or staring at a computer screen, and my husband who usually sees me at the very beginning of the day and the very end of the day. (And we all know what the beginning and the end look like. That is why hairbrushes and makeup are around in the first place - and thank goodness for that)
All photos courtesy of KQconcepts. That is right - I took them myself. Now hire me.

Take a good look.

It might be another 10 years before I do another self-portrait.

It's a wonderful life

2010-12-15T07:42:00.000-05:00

This post may come across as me bragging about my perfect Hallmark Christmas movie life, but I can't help it. Everytime we spend a weekend together, just the four of us as a family, I am deeply grateful. These are the times I was looking forward to for so long. These are the times I wondered if they would ever be when Carlos was travelling for work for so long. This is the season that I longed for and now it is here. It makes me rejoice in what God has done in our lives to bring us to these moments. Magnificent Moments. (And trust me - we are a far cry from Hallmark.)
I am sure my memory has already forgotten things (I have trouble remembering what I did yesterday... not to mention more important things) but here it goes in a nutshell.
This past weekend on Saturday morning I Christmas crafted my little heart out and Carlos graciously took the kids out of the house so I could do my thing. (He even took them grocery shopping) I baked 13 dozen cookies to start. For those of you going "Why, Kirsten why?" It was 1 basic sugar cookie dough recipe that I altered 4 ways taken from Real Simple magazine. I had to make cookies for Kailin's class party (since I neglected to sign up to bring something to the Thanksgiving feast - I knew I had to step up to the plate) and if you are going to make cookies, why not make a TON of cookies? Right?

Cutout sugar cookies color sprinkles

Cinnamon pinwheels

Peppermint/Chocolate cutouts

Toasted Almond cutouts

All packaged up and ready to be shared.

After most of the destruction of the kitchen in the cookie making process - we packed up lunch and headed off to the Biltmore Estate where we visited the Antler Hill Village.

They have a barn with all kinds of animals the kids can pet.

I didn't get any pictures in there because I was chasing Cole making sure he wouldn't get head-butted by a goat.

Or that HE wouldn't head- butt a goat.

Cole walked up to this guy and proclaimed loudly "COW!"

We did get to see two of these horses up close while they were being groomed.

I am still a little girl at heart when I see a horse like this.

Beautiful.

After our stroll around the village - and the kids quickly fading, we headed home for nap time.

While the kids were napping I started my annual Christmas crafting.

I can't show you any pictures or tell you about it until after Christmas so I don't ruin the surprise for my family.... but I can say is there is a learning curve.

And I learned that the fumes were quite overwhelming.

SO overwhelming we had to evaculate the house after the kids woke up.

We ended up going out to eat on a BOGO entree coupon at a local place and driving around a Christmas light display at Lake Julian while we left the windows open in the entire house.

This makes my thrifty Christmas crafting not so thrify anymore once you factor in dinner and entertainment and I find myself wondering why I don't just shop online like everyone else.....

It would have probably been cheaper, kept my house a lot warmer and a lot less smelly.

But where is the fun in that?

Then as you know we woke up on Sunday morning to this:

SNOW!

About 4 inches.

And unlike last year, Kailin couldn't wait to get outside and once she was out there she didn't want to come back inside.

Cole on the other hand was less amused by the white stuff.

Along the lines from the character from "A Christmas Story" he couldn't put his arms down.

And everytime he tried to walk he fell over.

I guess I should have been helping rather than laughing and taking pictures.

Carlos and Kailin made a daddy snowman and a Kailin snowman.

One more picture before we head inside.

These two brave the cold with their snowmen.

Unfortunately, slightly warmer temperatures caused daddy snowman to take a tumble later that afternoon.

Moment of silence for daddy snowman please.

(cue sappy Hallmark music)

It was a wonderful weekend.

I love Christmas.

I love my house.

I love my husband.

I love my kids.

I love my family.

I love my life.

I love telling what God has done to provide for us and give us exactly what we need and so much more.

I know that things can and will change.

And I know I have a split personality that can have me grumbling in discontent 5 minutes after I finish this post because the kids are being crazy.

But I have a fraction of an idea of how good I have it.

How about you?

(more Christmas crafting to come!)

Getting older

2010-12-10T15:57:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone in blog land - My blog is officially 1 year old! Thanks to my 14 official followers and all you other silent readers out there for 1 year of fun. I don't think I am any older or wiser, but I have laughed a lot, screamed on the inside a bit, and learned a lot as my kids have gotten older, and hopefully I can just keeping on blogging and sharing with everyone. Don't worry about getting me presents - just declare yourself a Magnificent Mom Moments fan to the rest of the blog world!

In other news: I thought I would share my day with you.
I have a slight personality disorder where I must be productive. This means multi-tasking all the time.
It is just in my genes. (No escaping genes.)
So for all you people still thinking I am sitting at home eating bon bons (I don't know who really thinks that or what I think I have to prove by listing this, but anyway) - here is a run down of my day so far. And in true Magnificent Mom Moments fashion, it will be in the form of a list:

Got dressed
Ate breakfast
Emptied dishwasher
Brushed dog's teeth
Brushed dog's coat out - (dog hair flying everywhere....)
Let the dog out
4 loads of laundry washed and piled on my bed
Sent Emails/Facebook messages
Got both kids up out of bed
Breakfast for kids
Clean up breakfast
Get the kids dressed
Craft time for kids including painting, markers, and play-doh.
Successfully managed to keep Cole from eating all the play-doh, but not the paint.
Managed to take cute photos of craft hour (seen below)
Washed down kids, table and chairs of paint, markers, and play-doh
Suctioned Coles nose out with bulb syringe
Trimmed Cole's fingernails
Emptied trash
Scrubbed race car track marks off wall with magic eraser
Swept dust bunnies and dog hair off floor (that should really be called dust rabbits in my house)
Snack time
Cleaned up snack time
Suctioned Cole's nose again
Played fort - magic blanket ride - race cars and other various play activities
Put kids down for a rest (It is now 10:00 a.m.)
Made debt pay-down chart
Talked to sister-in-law
Talked to Mom
Talked to sister-in-law again
Talked to Mom again
Got kids out of their rooms
Made lunch
Fed kids lunch
Cleaned up lunch
Swept up more dust rabbits
Started dinner
Suctioned Cole's runny nose
Played outside with kids (bundled up!)
While kids are playing, roam yard with plastic baggies and picked up Fischer poop piles (glamorous I know)
Got kids inside
Snack time again
Clean up snack time
Kept working on dinner
Writing this blog - and it is currently 3:30 p.m.

Just think of everything that will happen between now and 7:30. I still have dinner to finish, bath time, bed time, everything in-between time. I do get caught up in everything I do - and everything that needs to get done because it is easy to see and focus on. It is easy to try to control life by checking off projects, fussing on how clean the house is (or isn't), figuring out what else you "need", and organizing everything into closets and compartments. Life can take up all your living. (If you let it.) I am not making this list as a complaint, or as a way to get a pat on the back for how successful I am as a mom - and that isn't why I blog either. I blog and I do this day to day because it serves my family and therefore serves my Lord Christ. In EVERYthing I do - I reflect His glory into my home and my world around me. I hope I can continue to make that abundantly clear to all of you reading. I like to be funny and sarcastic and let you in on all the things that happen that make being a mom an incredible journey - but most of all I just want to glorify God and raise my kids in a way that will bring them to know Jesus personally.

Getting older isn't so bad. You learn to live with the messy.

When we do craft hour we go all out:

Trying to contain the mess will only frustrate the kids - and then frustrate you - and then no one is happy.

Just let them have at it.

Blue mustache and all.

Yum.

Play-doh.

Oh that is some terribly bad hair.

The many faces

2010-12-08T07:04:00.000-05:00

I am always looking for an excuse to take photos.

Here comes the cutest girl in the cutest brown polka dot shirt. Again.

I present: The Many Faces of Kailin.

A 20 minute study on how my daughter will probably at some point in the next few years absolutely refuse to be still in front of a camera in protest for how she is my contant test subject.

(And inspiration!)

She was strapped into her booster seat here, so she was my *very* captive subject.

Camera. Again.

Great.

But I have a bad haircut mom.

Please take me to a proper hairdresser.

Ok - I will be cute and humor you.

Love you mom.

Perfect!

Ok Mom, I would really rather get back to playing now.

C'mon mom. I mean it. Let's play.

OK - ONE more time.

ONE more stinkin' photo.

Cheeeeese.

Seriously? You are still pointing that thing at me?

And PLEASE do something about my hair.

You aren't there anymore....I can't seeeeeee you.

lalalalalalaaaaa.

(and Kailin goes into the distant planet zone in her head that shuts out all the camera clicks - and mom FINALLY gets the hint.)

Experimenting

2010-12-07T07:00:00.001-05:00

I have had a bit of writer's block lately - it is not for lack of things or craziness as usual. (Or maybe the crazy is just the norm now and I don't think you would find it that interesting?)
I did think it might be helpful to some of you to share the results of two little experiments Carlos and I have been doing on Kailin. As you know, we have reached the TWO phase. One day she is fairly sane and normal and predictable, the next day she is running in circles running around the house, blabbering jibberish and screaming at the top of her lungs and acting out in any possible way she can think of. It is enough to have me at my wit's end and not in the best place with patience and love..... it is more like wondering when demons took over my sweet baby girls body.
I am totally a believer in the baby books by Tracy Hogg called "The Baby Whisperer". Do you have a new baby? Go buy the book. Now. She is a whiz when it comes to clearly laying out how to better understand your baby and settle into a comfortable routine where the baby fits right into the family and begins to understand that their needs are being met and that you understand them. Just read the book.
Anyway, having purchased her follow up book "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer for Toddlers" awhile ago I thought now would be the ideal time to review it. (I had read it once before - but having not reached this age with my kids yet it made sense but didn't sink in. NOW I soaked in every last word. I was reading chapters and in my head going "Ohhhhhhh! Ok! I get it now!")
One tip I learned - Choices. My parents still joke that the way they used to get me to do anything was to give me a choice that wasn't really a choice but made it seem that way.
Example - "Kirsten, would you like to finish writing the blog and then get dressed for work OR get dressed for work and then finish writing the blog?
Voila. Choices.
Kid feels in charge. Parents get what they want accomplished. Everyone is happy.
Experiment #1 -
Well, the secret that I learned was to apply this to my disciplining.
Example -
Instead of saying "Kailin if you beat your brother with that truck one more time you are going to sit in time-out" which is a threat and begs to be tested by the child.
You instead give her a CHOICE: "Kailin you have two choices - you can listen to mommy and stop beating Cole or you can sit in time-out. What is your choice?"
Kailin usually stops what she is doing to ponder these choices (therefore stopping the undesirable activity at hand) and when I prompt her to make a choice her reply is now usually "I listen" or "No sit in time out" Which translates to "Ok I get it - I will behave." The results of this experiment have been phenomenal. It has reduced the amount of timeouts and it is teaching Kailin to make the right choice.
I am not saying it works all the time. There are some days I am running after her going "YOU HAVE TWO CHOICES!!!" and she could care less. (And there are some moments when you just can't think fast enough to what the choices are at hand.) But overall, a wonderful tool to use that I highly recommend. I can't promise it works on your teenage children or spouse - but give it a try and let me know what happens.

Experiment #2 -
Ever since Daylight savings, Kailin's wake-up time in the morning went from 6 a.m., finally back to 7 a.m., and then gradually creeped earlier and earlier until over the course of two weeks she was regularly getting up at 5 a.m. I realize that this might be normal for some of you and I might seem really spoiled with 7 a.m. - but that is the way I like it and that is the way I want it to stay. My time. MY TIME!
Solution?
The Good NiteLite
Within 2 days this miracle has given me back my time to shower and drink a cup of coffee before Kailin wakes up. It is a programable nitelite that changes from moon to sun when it is time to get up, and sun back to moon when it is time to go to bed. She can tell just by looking at it that it is not time to get up yet or when it is time to go to bed.

Yes it was a little pricey for a nitelite.

But given the results I think it was worth every cent.

(And I found it on www.thinkgeek.com with a $5 coupon from www.retailmenot.com)

I did not get paid to review this product and sing its praises, but if the company would like to pay me to be a spokesperson, I would be happy to jump on board.

So there you have it people.
You never thought being a mom (parent) would make you a scientist did you?
(other experiments on hand... how many moldy foods can I find in my produce drawer on trash day)
Anyone else been experimenting on the their kids beside me?

I'm all shook up

2010-12-03T14:22:00.003-05:00

OK - this is another guaranteed smile. (At least for me it is.)
Cole + Elvis = unprompted head movements = hard to control laughter.

Deck my halls

2010-12-01T19:36:00.000-05:00

Decking MY halls.

And how good it feels to have a house to deck out for Christmas.

Anyone remember last year?

No?

Check out these:

Decorating or gifting or crafting.

I happen to remember last year.

I was decorating my parents house while the renovations on our current home were just underway.

And I had two tiny kiddos. (seen here)

Sheesh.

How fast yet how slow a year can go by....

I digress.

Here is our beeeautiful Christmas tree that we picked out and cut down from a tree farm in Brevard.

So far no major issues with the kids and the tree... but it is a long month to go.

There is always something magical about the lights on a Christmas tree.

These are left over from last year!

(see here)

Impressed with all my on-the-ball friends and family who have already sent me their Christmas cards?

Don't be.

I saved the cards from last year.

Want to see your card on my fireplace?

Get crackin.

I love the little details.

Haul out the holly.

(or cut it down from the tree in the backyard)

And put it in a chic expensive vase.

(Or an empty bottle that you spray painted two different colors at the same time and let it drip and run all together and dry.)

I love when I can feel crafty and it takes me all of 10 minutes to complete.

And don't let the dog or the kids much on the red leaves.

Have you finished your decorating yet?

Blogs (possibly) to come...

My blog anniversary!
Where is my brain and when did I stop thinking?
Christmas gift crafting 2010. (Still haven't started yet.)
Why do I leave major projects like Christmas crafting to the last minute?
Why am I constantly making lists?
The follow up to an older post on why God uses repetition in our lives for learning.
My drug of choice

Stay tuned! There are always more magnificent moments.

The Sanders Family

2010-11-30T20:26:00.000-05:00

I know I know... I looked at my last post date.

It has been awhile.

Christmas is coming people!!!!.... so much to do.

Including fun photo shoots with super cute families I love like the Sanders!

Meet Ellen, Andrew, Jaden and Timothy

I have to mention for the record that this was a 45 minute photo shoot between First Baptist Hendersonville church services - and taken in various places available inside the church because it was freeeezing outside.

Super fun. Super cute.

Totally Sanders.

You would never know that this was with an highly active, somewhat tired, somewhat hungry,

mostly uninterested in the camera 2 year old!

These incredible eyes look familiar?

Here are the photos from a quick playdate photo shoot not too long ago.

Sweet boys.

Sweet family.

So thankful I had the opportunity to capture some smiles for them.

Kirsten - photographer for hire!

If I had a dime everytime I said....

2010-11-19T10:53:00.003-05:00

I don't know about you, but I find myself on constant repeat mode. Even the things I repeat are repetitive. It is to the point where I don't have anything intelligent to speak about with adults because my brain is on a short-wave cycle of the same phrases over and over. I could be a robo-mom. Except I know a robo-mom wouldn't butter a whole loaf of toast in one day like I can or do the dino-dance as gracefully as I can. (Barney anyone?)
If I had a dime for everytime I said one of the following, I would be a rich lady. I would take all my dimes and hire a chef. (I debated a long time between a chef and a cleaning lady - and I decided I am not too uptight about cleaning, but I do have to cook every.single.day. and I would have way more free time to clean - or do other things - if I didn't have to cook) Unless someone was planning on hiring me a chef as a Christmas present. In which case, I switch my answer to hiring a masseuse.

1. Don't touch that.
2. NONonononononoo!
3. Kailin, leave your brother alone.
4. Leave the dog alone.
5. I said, leave the dog alone.
6. Please don't tease the dog.
7. How do you ask nicely?
8. Kailin, please listen.
9. I said listen.
9. LISTEN!!!
10. No we can not watch Barney.
11. No we can not watch Bob the Builder.
12. Step back from the tv please.
13. No more butter toast.
14. Cole - no throwing food buddy.
15. C'mon Kailin. We need to go.
16. What do you tell mommy when you have to go pee-ee??!
17. You can't take that from him/her.
18. STOP it.
19. We are sharing, right guys? S-h-a-r-i-n-g.
20. You know what? I LOVE YOU.
*Additions from the last 30 minutes:
21. Cole, I am going to feed you.
22. Please wait.
23. I said wait.
24. You have to be patient.
25. No banging on the table.
26. I am going to take your fork/knife/spoon away if you keep banging.
27. No more juice.

I could probably go on. and on.
There might be updates of this post as I think of more.
(My thoughts on repitition and learning as a child of God coming in the next post.....)
What are your catch phrases?

the L word

2010-11-10T21:33:00.000-05:00

Yes.

I said it.

The L word.

Not love..... or lollipop or llama....

LAUNDRY.

This is a mom blog.

(What did you expect?)

My never-ending uphill battle.

Literally.

I try so hard.

I have such good intentions to get it all done at the same time.

But it takes days.

I start washing the first load. (the easy part)

And then once the second load has hit the dryer we are in a major backup because I don't have time to fold laundry the instant it is done.

With all my heart I hit the "touch up button" and have EVERY intention of returning to fold that load 20 minutes later. (well... maybe there is a tiny bit of procrastination.... but can you blame me? Who looks forward to folding a mountain of clothes?)

But it doesn't happen.

So it ends up looking like these photos.

In a heap on the bed.

And just when I get close to finally getting everything put away.

It starts all over again.

But you know what?

As much as I complain and drag my feet to tackle those dirty clothes...

We have PILES of clothes.

And a fabulous washer/dryer.

And running water to wash them with.

And a roof over my head while letting my electronic duo do the work for me.

And I have the luxury of ignoring the accumulating piles (for awhile...) and I still have clothes to wear.

Laundry?

Blessing in disguise.

the Flower Girl

2010-11-09T22:25:00.000-05:00

Here is the story of our wedding filled weekend in a nutshell.

Saturday night was Daylight Savings.

Sunday was the wedding.

Yippie.

As a result, everyone was up at 6:00 a.m. and did not nap after going to church.

Except for the 20 minute card ride it took us to get to the weddding:

Great.

My expectations were pretty low for flower girl's performance at this point for many reasons.

1. She has a history of bursting into hysterics when a stranger says "Hi" to her at Wal-mart.

2. When she doesn't start crying she instead gives the death stare to anyone new talking to her and refuses to remotely come close to smiling.

3. She is a looney crazy 2 year old with roller coaster emotions that range from jumping, to screaming, to singing, to who knows what....

4. NO NAP. Enough said.

5. On every other occasion she refuses to wear dresses or ANY shoes except her pink sneakers.

6. We found out the ceremony was outdoors. In the shade. At 4:30 in the afternoon. In November.

All dressed up and waiting.

So far... so good....

Dressed up and waiting some more so very patiently.

And now with the cutest ringbearer you ever did see.

AND holding hands to boot with their light whirly globes.

(a gift from the bride and groom)

Be still my heart.

No wonder Kailin wanted to hold his hand.

CUTIE pie.

Practicing her "sprinkle" - only with gravel instead of rose petals.

Checking out the action.

Unfortunately for you all I do not have any pictures of the ceremony because I didn't want to get in the way of the hired photographer. But I could hardly believe what I was seeing. I was watching the flower girl and ring bearer in the cutest fashion mosey down the aisle with his mom and Carlos ushering them on. Kailin didn't have enough hands to hold hands with the ring bearer AND sprinkle flowers - so Carlos held the basket and she would reach in and take the petals and drop them in clumps along the way while she held the hand of her little escort. As she walked she said "I'm sprinkling!"
And when she got to me at the end she proudly proclaimed "Ice cream?!" - a promise from Daddy.
It was a hoot.
She didn't get ice cream, but she did get brownies and a chocolate eclair, and lollipops, and gummy bears..... Yes. We bribed.

Party girl.

But I did not give her enough credit.

She did it.

She was the very best flower girl.

And the whole weekend was fabulous.

Fabulous to see our wonderful friends begin their life together as husband and wife.

Thanks Jeremy and Gretchen!

We felt honored and grateful to be a small part in such a wonderful day.

Everything was perfect.

Post my sillies out

2010-11-03T20:32:00.001-04:00

Random things from my brain that I need to say so I don't explode - in random order.

1. People who manufacture dishwashers should start offering a "Jumbo" dishwasher line. Sure it would take up more space, but I would be all for it. The less dishes I wash, the better.

2. I accidentally machine washed (aka ruined) my very fancy, very delicate, hand wash only grown up skirt that I wear to fancy events. The skirt I wear to feel like I am a lady. The one I wore with the shoes. I keep telling myself "it was just a piece of clothing. it was just a skirt." but really all I am hearing in my head is me saying "stupid stupid stupid." Ok. Hoping this gets it out of my system.

3. I guess maybe the jumbo dishwasher isn't such a good idea. Hand washing things has its benefits. Lesson learned.

4. Who stole my daugther and replaced her with crazy pycho Kailin? I know the world and general public sees the sweet, smart, somewhat shy cutie redhead. But man alive. When we are at home she is a whole other can of nuts now. She is the big 2 now. Turning 2 was one event - very sweet, cake, presents, cuteness. Now she has turned 2. From the hours of 5 to 7 (and sometimes before and sometimes after....) she is screaming, tantrum throwing, not listening, brother bashing, food throwing crazy person. I need to consult my 2 year old textbook because all of a sudden I am way out of my league. She is pushing every envelope. I know this is just a phase. Right? Please tell me it is just a phase?

5. Eating brownies tastes good but doesn't help really deal with any of the feelings of inadequecy as a mom. Or the feeling stupid for machine washing a hand-wash only skirt.

6. I splurged and bought the best reviewed - sworn by - leak proof sippy cups guaranteed not to leave water anywhere except in the mouth of a child drinking from it. Cole had it for 10 minutes back in his room and when I came to check on him he was was soaked with a puddle around him. Doh. Money back guarantee? No.

7. Kailin loved the new spilly er, I mean sippy cups and drank three times her weight in water in about an hour. She peed in her pants 4 times in the next hour. Great.

8. Cole is officially walking. And singing E-i-e-i- ooooooo all. the. time.

9. If my cell phone lasts another 7 months to the "new every two" I wil consider it a miracle. Prayers are
appreciated.

10. I am having a Ladies night next week and I really want people to come. If you are reading this - and you are a lady - and you live near me - and I know you - well, even if you don't know me - and you haven't responded to me - this is me (slightly) begging. Please come?

11. Kailin is going to be a flower girl in a wedding this weekend. I am taking bets on the outcome.
- Everything goes as planned and she walks down the aisle and scatters petals like a pro.
- She completely freezes at the sight of an entire congregation of people staring at her and she bursts into tears and hysterics and I have to leave the ceremony with her all together.
- We don't even make it to the ceremony.

12. I need a blog makeover.

13. I wanted to do a Halloween blog about the Salt and Pepper costumes but really I couldn't think of much to say. I can't take credit for the idea because I got it from a neighbor kid who had the really fancy store bought version. I just happened to make the cheap home version from clothes in the closet and printed letters from 8.5x11 sticky labels. I was fixated on making them cute silver hat toppers and searched the house high and low for bowls, hats, tupperware, lids, anything that might make cute shaker looking tops.
But who am I kidding? I have kids. Kids don't wear hats. The end.

The salt and pepper hat that never was.

The best picture I could get of the both of them standing together.

14. I wish I had something profound to leave you with but I don't. Well how about this - go hug someone you love. Profound- no. Heartfelt-yes.

KQconcepts - Updates

2010-11-02T13:08:00.001-04:00

So this is a quick catch up on what I am working on lately - lots of photography! (yay!)
I get such a wonderful feeling from being trusted with and having the priviledge of capturing these moments.

First up: A photo shoot for Andrew Brown to use in all future media for his upcoming cd! I am also designing the cd cover and case for him. Stay tuned for more details when we finish that up and how you can purchase the cd of this incredible Christian singer/songwriter.

This was the most cooperative wall I have ever worked with.

It was perfect.

Get ready!

The cd is going to be awesome!

Second - Nature shots. Just a few from our time at the Biltore Estate with friends Bill and Rhonda and their son Jacob.

There are only a few nature shots because my main target was Jacob! And he was a moving target to say the least. We ran. We hopped. We played peek-a-boo. We had a blast.

Some nice ladies even thought he looked just like me.

Cutie pie.

I think he just owns this chair completely.

Little man.

Such a sweetie.

Keep up the great work Rhonda and Bill!

Lastly a few impromptu shots of Timothy and Jaden - the boys of Ellen and Andrew - while they were over playing on Sunday

Hello blue eyes.

The color was not altered by me in anyway people.

Wearing daddy's shoes.

Jaden - completely out cold.

If only I could get sleep like that...

Jaden awake! And again with the eyes - crazy.

Will they be brown? or blue?

Take a guess!

You can see all my recent work at my website www.KQconcepts.com

Get ready for Christmas and have some portraits done to give as gifts!

I would love to capture your family.

Guaranteed to make you smile.

2010-10-29T08:01:00.000-04:00

What more can I say?

Lady-like

2010-10-25T21:45:00.001-04:00

SOMEtimes I get dressed up.
What girl doesn't like to do that every once in awhile?
Do I prefer it?
No.
Doesn't exactly match my day to day lifestyle of kid-wrangling, trips to the park, diaper changing, dog walking, grocery shopping, cooking, 24 hour puking fest, poison ivy rash that won't go away and other general crazy business. (I know - nothing you haven't heard here before. But when no one ever comments to tell me what you like and don't like - this is what you get. Constant rambling. Truthfully, you would get that even if I had a million comments. That is all this blog is about.....)
No, that is where my constant ponytail, jeans with holes in the knees, and my collection of various hoody type sweatshirts come in. (YOU know it. You love it. Moms - you wear it.)

Here is where a whole different side of Kirsten glimmers to the surface for just a short while.
(and if Jen or Lori are reading - you will appreciate this!)

I love these shoes.

I love everything about them.

They are another part of "me" encapsulated in shoe form.

Did you know I worked at a Nine West Shoe store in my pre-kid life?

I worked and sold beautiful shoes.

I will admit I didn't care for most trends that came and went.

I am practical at heart.

But there were a few that stole my heart and came home with me.

Most of the time (um - 5 years??) they sit in boxes and I wonder why I keep them.

But then I have one glorious date night with my husband where I get to wear them.

And feel all lady-like.

And better yet, like Kirsten.

the Sunday night recap

2010-10-24T19:50:00.001-04:00

Here is the quick Sunday night recap of random things floating around in my brain:

Carlos dedicated his Saturday to fencing in our back yard- this makes me soooo happy. And the dog sooooo happy. Open door. Let dog out. Close door. No more freezing, calling, watching, shouting, running after dog chasing random animals. Yippie!

Random things that Kailin has said lately:
1. While driving past the fire station - "NOooo Cole, that isn't Daddy - That's a Fire Truck!"
2. While I was prompting her to exuse herself from the dining room table...
Me: "Please may I..?" (correct response: be excused)
Kailin: "go have some fun?" (her response: a lot more honest)

Kailin is now obsessed with Barney. We have 1 Barney DVD and it is all she wants to watch. I have a love/hate relationship with this purple dinosaur. It's complicated.

Cole has not 1, not 2, not even 3 but 4 teeth breaking through in his top gums. Slow and painful agony.

1. I went on a date with Carlos last night where we got all prettied up and went to a fancy gala. They served "mini" foods for dinner. (Lots of different tables with literally bite sized food. One bite. Not three bites or two bites, one stinkin bite.
2. I learned that I am not one for fancy galas.
3. I learned that I am not one for miniature foods.
4. I think everyone at the party was getting a complex from having to visit the food tables over and over again - it makes you feel greedy, but c'mon - the food is MINIATURE! And I was hungry.
5. We left the fancy gala and went out for pizza.
6. I learned that I need more pizza dates with my husband. It was fun. :)
7. Ended our spectacular fancy date night by proclaiming that my stomach was hurting and went to bed.
8. Woke up in the middle of the night and puked all that tiny food out. (How does miniature food equal so much puke?) Oh right... the pizza.
9. Spent Sunday in a stupor recovering from the puking. (feeling better now... thanks.)

Just typing about the mini food made me hungry.

Here is a big loaf of serious food.

And on a deeper note:
Kailin is now playing the "What?" game. The one where I give an instruction or direction and she looks right back at you and says "What?" Like she didn't hear you. But she did. She just doesn't want to obey.
And then I (calmly and with complete patience) repeat my instructions.
And she looks right back with that blank look on her face and says again, "what?"
Until I start chasing her and threatening her with time-outs and then things start moving along. Sometimes.
How or where she learned this at the age of 2 I have no idea.
(Is this normal for 2? or for like, a 6 year old?)

But here is once again my spiritual revelation from my 2 year old.
This is normal for EVERY age.
You do it.
I do it.
When it comes to God's word - most of us choose to read it and then pretend we didn't hear it, didn't read it, didn't comprehend it.
Or we get intimidated by it - so we don't read it at all.
So We don't obey it.
We don't obey our Father's clear, written instructions.
We look blankly in the face of God and say "What?"
We think it is easier not to listen.
We think He won't care.
We are lazy.
We are selfish.
We think it doesn't matter.
We are more like 2 year olds than grown ups.
I say "we" but I am pointing the finger at myself.
Just take the time to think about your own relationship with God and his clear and direct instruction and words to us in the Bible.
I know I needed to reconsider how I treat scripture.

ok - my brain is still kind of mushy.

But I felt like sharing.

Love to all. and to all. a goodnight.

(7:40 p.m.)

Betty Crocker wannabe and a mullet.

2010-10-18T20:35:00.001-04:00

So what is this blog about anyway?

Magnificent Baking Moments?

I can't help myself.

Fall food has taken over and I am going into hibernation mode.

Apple tart with almond topping.

Because who wants to bake another pie in a plain ol' pyrex glass dish when there

is pretty polish pottery to use?

This is to show you that although I may seem like a Betty Crocker wannabe

I fail.

These were supposed to be calzones.

No one complained eating them, but it sure wasn't what I had in mind.

But heck, with dough, cheese, and sauce - who cares?

What the picture doesn't really show is the blackened bottoms I had to scrape, and the mass amounts of dough that overtook the oven like a scene from "The Blob".

I really should spend more time making actual dinners than baking though....

really I should.

nah.

And now the part of the post you have all been waiting for - me talking about my kids again!

and the not so magnificent moment when .....

I realized that my son was growing a mullet.

(Before)

Something about that plaid shirt with "it" just made me look at this photo and gasp outloud.

(After)

Phew.

That was a close call.

And I didn't even pierce him with scissors or cut off a piece of ear or anything!

Can I get a pat on the back for that please?

Do you know what it is like to cut the hair of a non-stop moving one year old?

Cole-man is happier too.

And just TOO cute for words.

B is for Basil Bread (and blood)

2010-10-13T20:59:00.000-04:00

A great way to use all that crazy amounts of basil from the CSA so you don't have to make any form of Italian food for the umpteenth night in a row.....
{By popular request (ie: this means you Miriam and Kendra)}

Basil Beer Bread
3.25 cups flour
1.25 oz package dry active yeast
1.5 teaspoons kosher salt
.5 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup grated Parmesan. (in my house - more is always better)
1 12 oz bottle of bottle beer, preferably ale
1 cup chopped or torn basil
Flour for work surface

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Oil a baking sheet with olive oil.
In a large bowl (I happen to call on my handy dandy food processor with the dough blade) combine flour, yeast, salt, pepper, and parmesan. Add the beer and mix until the dough just comes together.
Turn the dough on slightly floured surface - sprinkle with basil and knead until incorporated.
Shape dough into round loaf and transfer to prepared sheet.
Bake until loaf is lightly browned and toothpick comes out clean - 40 to 45 minutes.
Cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy warm with copious amounts of butter.

WARNING

This is a thick and hearty loaf of bread.

Do NOT attempt to cut a slice of bread while holding the bread in your hand in mid-air.

No matter how hungry you are.

Or how pressed for time you are.

Or how crazy the kids are.

Unless you want to lose part of your finger.

Or your hand in general.

(Slightly exaggerated for dramatic effect - and to make this post funny)

This time - I can actually say I didn't learn this the hard way.

Carlos did.

If you see him be sure to hug him and say that you are glad he (and his finger) are still with us after all that blood loss.

C is for Cookie

2010-10-12T20:15:00.000-04:00

I like baking because really - who doesn't like baked good? Especially cookies. I like making them, eating some (hopefully not most) of them, and sharing the rest to spread that warm fuzzy homemade cookie feeling. (I also have to share them so I don't get that cruddy feeling when I eat too many....)
I don't feel like I can fully accept the compliments I get on baking cookies because all I do is follow a recipe. Some smart person spent all this time and effort to come with up a scientifically delicious way to make a heart warming cookie recipe and I steal the thunder just by following it. Most recipes don't come with the names of these genius people, but one of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe does so I thought I would give credit where credit is due.

Cynthia Gorney - whoever you are - I love you.
I have a ripped out piece of a magazine from February 2005 on page 132 that has been in my cookbook for years. (5 years). I don't even know which magazine.
But thanks to the wonder of the internet I googled you and if it is the same Cynthia Gorney, according to this you really don't need to be coming up with cookie recipes.
You seem busy enough.
And incredibly smart.
And not at all like a baker.

Cynthia Gorney's Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
1 Cup (2 sticks) softened butter - save butter wrappers.
1.5 Cups flour
1 Cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 Cup Grape Nuts cereal
1 tsp. salt
3/4 Cup brown sugar
3/4 Cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1.5 vanilla extract
12 oz dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Use the butter wrapper to grease cookie sheets. (this is a handy tip to use in general. Spray stuff ruins bakeware in my personal opinion.)
2. Combine flour, oats, cereal, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
3. In a second large bowl combine butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
4. Gradually stir flour mixture into butter mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop batter by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheet.

5. Bake until light golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
(TIP: Follow this exactly. The cookies will look soft on top, and you will think "these aren't done yet." and you will put them back into the oven, but then 2 minutes later you will be sniffing going, "what is that burning smell?" and it will be too late because the cookies will be black on the bottom. I may know from experience. Maybe.)

6. Let them cool on a wire rack and they will crisp up.

And they will be fantastic.

And gone quickly.

It was a baking kind of day - I also made a tomato basil quiche.

The very one that my kids found repulsive and unedible.

And some basil bread.

Yum.

Gotcha!

2010-10-11T21:35:00.001-04:00

It only took about 100 photos or so - alone in a closed off space with Cole for over 30 minutes with a Tonka truck that is normally confiscated for safety and sibling rivalry issues -
but here are the end results. Worth every shot!
Gotcha Cole!
(Subtitle: the boy, overalls, and a truck)

ps. I love taking pictures of kids. If you would like to spare my kids the agony of having to be locked in a bedroom with their mother and a camera, please recommend me to anyone looking for a photographer to do some portraits!
www.kqconcepts.com

I know I keep saying I am over the teething process, but I will miss this gummy smile once all those teeth finally appear.

Where do I begin?

2010-10-11T10:58:00.001-04:00

In the what is new with me category - all the same stuff.

Just different.

But good.

Mom-hood.

Work.

Cooking.

Cleaning.

Kids.

Husband.

House.

Kids not napping, not eating, not listening, not caring.

But is is these quick little moments (featured below) that happen that just take your breath away and (almost) make you forget the rest.

And this is 4 posts in one so get ready.

Post 1:

This spontaeously happened.

I didn't arrange it, stage it, coach it, or coax it.

I RAN to get my camera before anyone got pinched, pulled, shoved, yanked,

crying, snot dripping, bumped, bruised or anything else.

She just wanted to lean over and give him a hug.

Her somewhat exact words -

"I love you buddy."

Where do you begin to describe this feeling?

(I know Cole looks like he could care less, but it was still so sweet.)

p.s. - His head is bigger than hers.

Post 2:

Cole is walking more and more when he feels like it.

Except that he thinks that part of the novelty and fun of walking

is pitching himself forward at the end of his destination.

That is ok when that destination is me.

Not ok when that destination is the table, couch, wall, or Kailin....

Look Mom! No hands!

It is a little hard to take photos of Cole walking when he is about to throw himself on me.

Walking towards me.

Totally after the camera.

Post 3:

This ALSO spontaneously happened.

(I would like to think he was reciprocating the lovely feelings from above)

This is how I found out what happens when Cole decides to walk to his sister and pitch himself onto her.

This is Kailin saying "Come here Cole!"

Awww!

So stinking adorable!

-------Not Pictured : The weight of Cole totally knocking Kailin backwards and both of them landing in a heap and banging heads and limbs on cute white chair and floor------------

Post 4:

Carthartt overalls for kids?

Where do I begin?

so. stinking. cute.

Photo Bias

2010-10-01T16:10:00.001-04:00

For those of you who cry foul on how many pictures of Kailin there are compared to Cole that appear on my blog/facebook etc... here is an example of a few recent photo shoots around the house.

Here are two photo shoots with Kailin-

Inpromptu shots while sitting at the table eating lunch.

I think she was probably looking for school buses.

Very serious business.

The arrival of cooler weather and fall means it is time for my FAVORITE shirt for Kailin.

It always inspires photo shoots.

I LOVE those colored polka dots on the brown background.

I wish I could wear this shirt.

Except I wouldn't be as cute.

Cute.

Cute, but....

Does this say trouble or what?

Here are a three recent attempted photo shoots for Cole:

I wanted to try to take a photo to blog about his first steps-

but this was the failed attempt.

On the move.

Walking fail. Butt shot Fail.

Chewing Fail.

(Have I mentioned I am totally over teething?)

"Look at me mom. I am doing something I am not supposed to be doing!"

Fail.

Sad that I took him away from the DVD drawer.

Crying Fail.

Back of head Fail.

Eating Fail.

So NOW people do you see why Kailin gets more air time?

My photo- lovin' red curly haired spunky spirited daughter just knows how to work the camera.

What else can I say?

Have the pictures proved my point?

I love my kids.

Equally.

They do not love the camera equally.

Case closed.

I won't keep trying - It only means I revel in my success when I DO actually get a decent picture of my moving, shaking, chewing, crying, eating, and doing everything else Cole-man.

I will keep you posted as soon as that happens.

Even Carlos gets some camera loving.

He is cute too.

Highlights from my day

2010-09-24T13:45:00.001-04:00

1. I was stalked (drove by the house 3 times SUPER slowly until coming to a complete stop in the road and staring through the window) by an eager yard sale person who told me I wrote the sale was Friday and Saturday in my ad in order to try to see what I was selling a day ahead of time. (I did NOT).
2. This person lost their car key in my yard and we spent 10-15 minutes searching for it in the grass.
(It was in the car)
3. I ironed a poster. But not Carlos' work shirts.
4. My (70+) neighbor continued his trend of mowing the lawn with his shirt off.
5. Went for a walk with a friend - upon leaving and heading home I realized several minutes into the drive that I was headed the wrong direction. (going towards my parents house...)
6. My other neighbor and I tried to see if our dogs would play together well. Um. They did not. Kailin ended up crying and I ended up dragging my "doesn't play well with others K-9" back into the house.
7. Laundry.
8. Re-fluffing laundry in dryer because I forgot about it.
9. Re-fluffing again.
10. Dumping contents of dryer on my bed to fold later.
11. Lunch where Kailin ate only watermelon and Cole would only drink milk and eat a little banana. I had ground turkey sloppy joe.
12. Watched a video on how Bill Clinton has become a vegan. Got really depressed that Bill Clinton can decide to get healthy and follow through with it and I can not.
13. Tried to call Carlos' aunt to say hello and had to hang up because Kailin pushed Cole over out of his little chair.
14. Gave Kailin a time-out.
15. Wrote 2 blog posts in the same morning. The first one while Kailin was having some "quiet time" after her time out and Cole was using his bed like a trampoline. And this one while they are actually napping.
16. It is now only 1:38 p.m. The rest of the day has so many possibilities....

Would you call the day a "melon"?

I would!

Beautiful, sweet, and full of color (and a few seeds).

Highlights from my day

2010-09-24T13:44:00.000-04:00

Would you call the day a "melon"?

I would!

Beautiful, sweet, and full of color (and a few seeds).

More like Mom

2010-09-24T11:21:00.000-04:00

Strange things that make me feel more like a mom:
1. Baking mass amounts of cookies.
2. Packing lunches in the morning for everyone before heading off to school/work.
3. Stain treating Cole's shirts, pants, socks, even shoes....
It feels like a "Shout it out commerical" everytime. Except I use Oxi-clean.
4. Using a crockpot to cook dinner while I'm at work.
5. Coming home from work and have the kids crawl and jump all over me because they are happy to see me.

Most of this amounts to the realization that working outside of the home make me feel more like a mom.
Which is a maybe a funny juxtaposition, but for me it is true. A lot of it has to do with the fact that my mom worked while I was growing up. It is what my model was. Balancing work and home life was what I grew up with (And she did a fantastic job if I do say so myself) but I didn't realize how much it would affect my perceptions on being a mom myself.
I LIKE working.
I am not saying I want a full time career, but I am thankful for the opportunity to be more connected to myself as "Kirsten the adult person" rather than "mom".
Why do we feel like we have less an identity when we are moms? Why do we lose it?
(Because we are giving everything of ourselves away - our lives revolve around feedings, naps, messes, and chaos - we stay like hermits holed up in our house because it is easier and who knows what kind of food shrapnel is on my clothes today - and because we speak more fluently in 'kid speak' than regular adult conversation now....just to name a few.)

So even though cooking dinner at 7:00 a.m. is not my idea of a good time (praise the Lord for crockpots and casseroles) and frantically packing food for everyone and getting out the door in one piece by 8:00 a.m. can be messy - I accept it gladly.
It means I am balancing.
I am mom.
A happier mom.
And more like a "mom" that is normal for me.

Going on a complete cookie baking blitz doesn't hurt either....
(I thought pictures of the cookies would be more fun than a picture of my crockpot.)

Coconut and almond macaroons and sugar cookies.

Chocolate Chunk cookies with secret ingredient grape-nuts cereal.

Don't ask though - they are all gone.

Snuggle Bunny

2010-09-18T13:41:00.000-04:00

In the morning before things get moving and before Cole wakes up,

we have a favorite place.

It is under the covers of Mommy and Daddy's bed.

Safe and warm,

we get comfy and cozy.

We hide ourselves in the blankets.

My snuggle bunny and me.

And we pretend to sleep.

Shhhhh.

(except afterwards mommy always needs another cup of coffee....)

The Purse

2010-09-17T19:26:00.000-04:00

"The Purse" has become a new member of the family so I thought I would introduce it to everyone.

Say hello to the purse.

The fake (alligator? crocodile? snakeskin?) pink plastic purse that now must join us everywhere.

When Mommy goes out with a purse - Kailin has the purse.

She insists.

It usually has the following:

Phone, lipstick, sunglasses, and whatever toy has her interest at the moment.

(in this photo it was a matchbox racecar)

Nothing but the necessities of course.

This is what I usually see in my rearview child mirror while driving.

You try focusing on the road with this hilarity behind you.

I have since taken the batteries out of the nonstop beeping phone.

(Kailin got it wet which meant it had a life of its own)

But this has created another monster - Kailin asking repeatedly

(and I mean from point A to point B anywhere we are going in the car)

"Mommy - the phone is broken! Fix it? Mommy? Mommy! PLEEAAZ!"

Super cool.

Hollywood.

And if wearing the sunglasses and talking on the phone weren't enough -

there is also applying the "lipstick".

Cool and incredibly cute.

(and she knows it)

Just another reminder of how our children are observing and absorbing us at ALL times.

In every detail.

The day to day repetition of life.

Purse.

Keys.

Phone.

Lipstick.

(matchbox racecar....)

I know this isn't the only thing Kailin does because it is "like Mommy".

There are many other "Kirsten" things that already are and will become "Kailin" things.

(I hope that the purse and contents are just a fraction of what she is learning from my day to day life.)

My prayer is that my life is more and more an imitation of Christ Jesus so that both

Kailin and Cole can see Him in me.

Ephesians 5:1-2

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

What do your kids see?

More importantly - who are you observing and absorbing?

My life at random

2010-09-10T09:26:00.002-04:00

Here are recent thoughts and other current events:

1. Cole is teething. Any mom knows this is miserable business. His butt is painful just to look at. I can't imagine sitting on it...

These days we go from this:

To this:

in about 2 seconds.

This is his drama pose.

The next step is usually a full out - face down superman pose on the floor while wailing.

(For teething - I will allow it.)

2. Cole loves making art just like Kailin. Unfortunately this usually means he loves eating it. Especially chalk. This kid loves chalk. Kailin has an easel in her room with a chalkboard and I catch him roaming in there just so he can stick that dusty colored goodness in his mouth. He drops the stick of chalk as soon as I say his name, but then he licks his fingers. Hilarious.

3. Kailin is obsessed with school buses. She knows where they usually are parked at the local school and every morning one stops in front of our house to pick up the kids across the street. This is the highlight of the day for her and it is very cute. She waves. Talks about the big kids going to school. Asks if she can ride the school bus. (if only she knew...) The best moment was 2 days ago when she was standing at the big front window after the bus had driven away because she really wanted to see the bus again and her solution was to start calling the bus like you would call a dog.
"Here bus! Here school bus! C'mon bus! Here bus!"
All while tapping her leg or clapping her hands.
It took everything I had not to spit my coffee out from laughing.

4. Kailin's new favorite phrase is "I TOLD you" - with the emphasis in her voice on "told". She probably learned this from me. Although hearing her say it back to me with such attitude is funny, it is also not funny. Choose your words and tone carefully - it will come back to you. Literally.

5. Kailin thinks both of the bedrooms are "her room". She can be playing in Cole's room and he will crawl on over to hers (to eat some chalk) and she will yell in panic
"NO - that's MY room! MY ROOM."
I try explaining to her that it is ok if Cole plays in her room because at the moment she is playing in his room.
"No mommy, this is MY room."
Both rooms are yours?
"yes"
Uh huh.
Where do I begin getting through with logic when logic doesn't apply?

6. I used to be a morning person. Having kids has changed that. Completely.

7. I went to a Needtobreathe concert like a big grown up person with my sister-in-law. It was a BLAST.

8. I ordered a gift for my mother and father in-law on August 16th. After it was shipped by the company to a non-existent Maine address by accident, TWICE, the third attempt is finally being delivered today. I am very thankful to put this saga behind me and I now consider the UPS tracking system a complete farce.

9. My sister is visiting. It is wonderful to see her. I still can't figure out how to convince her that New York City is boring and old news compared to Asheville and that she should move here......

I am utilizing my daughter's cuteness for recruiting purposes.

10. There is no #10 because Kailin just woke up Cole from his nap.

Ahhhh life.

I FORGOT my kids.

2010-09-08T13:57:00.003-04:00

I imagine the title might have grabbed your interest.
I tell this tale (with the encouragement of my sister-in-law) not to further feel like an absent-minded dork, but rather to put it out there and say YES. I forgot my kids. I am human. And it is ok. And I bet it may have already happened to you or someone you know anyway.
I am working part time at FB Church now and this is made possible by the WEE school preschool and the Mom's Morning Out program at the church. (I am so thankful for all the people that do so much to care for and educate my kids while I am working.) It is my second week and my last week training. I am trying to concentrate, learn AS much as possible, and not screw up terribly (and maybe do a good job at something).
Every Tuesday and Thursday while I am working the kids are at church in the morning and then at about 11:20 a.m. I pick up the kids and my mom meets me at the childcare center door and together we get the kids and bags, lunch boxes, etc. in the car.
Except yesterday.
My cell phone rang at NOON.
"Hey Mom"
"Hey there hon, just calling to let you know that I got the kids home ok - in case you were worried."
this is when I stared at the clock at disbelief and I tried to comprehend where the heck my brain went.
" OOOOOOOOOHHHH MOOOMMM - i am sosorrysosorrysoosososososorrry. REALLY sorry. SO sorry. Jeez....."

Yeah. Not only did I forget to pick up the kids. I forgot that I forgot - or something. I had no clue why mom was calling until she told me.
I could blame it on being a new schedule or being absorbed in what I was doing or being an absent minded mom - but I felt terrible.

The good news is I had a backup.
Thank goodness for MY mom who saved the day.
And who just shrugs it off and knows what it is like.
To be a mom. To work. To balance.
To be someone than other than who you used to be.

(and I am thankful I introduced mom to all the teachers last week so they knew who she was.....)

But JEEZ.
I will now have an alarm clock (or two) reminding me when to go get the kids.
I just hope I remember what the alarm is for when it goes off...

Anyone brave enough to share something similar?

crying because mama forgot him.

(not really - stay tuned for the story of this drama)

The week of firsts

2010-09-04T11:37:00.000-04:00

Hey there everyone,
Well, in our efforts to keep up with our trend of "how much living can we cram into life" mode - this week was as jam-packed.
First:
Last Saturday we moved into our HOME. It is lovely and it has my heart. It is everything I have been waiting for. I love this house. I love that is already our home. I love that the kids have their own rooms. I love the yard. I love the location. I love that we (we meaning Carlos) transformed an old outdated 2 bedroom home and garage into a more contemporary 3 bedroom masterpiece. I love it love it love it. (I think all the waiting makes the heart more appreciative....) Of course there are a million things more we want to do (hello sad landscaping), but step by step, we will get there. We have had lots of firsts this week, including our first Saturday morning family breakfast with waffles. (sigh) Perfection.
So here is a peak at what it looks like right now - not finished, but comfortable.

Dining area

PLEASE offer me suggestions on improving an old beat up dining room table & chairs that are in desperate need of refinishing or a paint job.

It was previously being used as an arts and crafts table and it covered with chunky glue and other bits of random substances and it is driving me crazy.

Living area

Kailin's room.

(please ignore curtains)

She has two closets - so covering this one for a reading nook was perfect.

Kitchen

(duh)

Best recent addition - the bag of Honeycrisp apples from a local orchard sitting on the counter.

YUM.

Office area - is in need of LOTS of shelving.... and organization in general.

but I did repaint the desk a fun Avacado/dark green combo.

Sort of cute.

Master bath

Closet - with SHOE rack from hubby.

Thanks babe.

Master bedroom

(still a mess)

This was a garage.

helllo big improvement.

And a much better place to sleep I might add.

Missing - Cole's room - He was napping.

Pictures to follow.

First:

Kailin had her first day of Wee School Preschool. She was VERY excited about this and talked about it for weeks prior to the big day.

Cute backpack,

But it is nearly as big as she is.

However she insisted on dragging it out to the car by herself.

I think it is going to be a good school year.

First:

(without photos)

I started a new part-time job as a graphic designer with First Baptist Church of Hendersonville.

So I had my first full day back to work. I was nervous (still am a little) and hope I can carry on the level of talent that is already been established. It is going well and I am really looking forward to the opportunity to serve.grow.learn.provide.and be involved.

It was not only my first day back to work - but the first job title I had had in my 8 years of working since graduating college that actually totally applies to my education and the gifts that God has given me. Huge.

I feel very blessed.

First:

We had our first Saturday morning together as a family in a very long time. We went to the local apple orchard on a perfect cool fall like morning and picked up apples. (See kitchen photo and comment about waffles)

People keep asking me how I am holding up with everything going on and all I can do is smile.

Is moving hard with two kids?

Yeah.

Is it busy?

Yep.

Is it crazy at times?

Sure.

How do I feel about it?

Absolutely MAGNIFICENT.

Beauty all around

2010-08-26T07:31:00.001-04:00

Just wanted to share some new photos.

I love finding the beauty all around us.

It may not have much to do with being a mom -

but it has everything to do with being Kirsten, a child of God.

Down to the changing color in every last leaf and petal, God has created it all.

I know I am not a theologian- and most of my God revelations come from my interactions with two kids (like how I am more like a 2 year old than a 30 year old spiritually)

but simplicity (sometimes) can be good.

So enjoy the beauty of a flower with child-like wonder.

And think about being created by and cared for by an Awesome God.

Birthday Boy

2010-08-25T21:01:00.001-04:00

I think all you really want to know is that there was cake.

And it was enjoyed by all.

Especially the birthday boy.

So without any further ado:

The Cole-man turns 1 - celebration photo highlights.

The Cake.

Cheerios! How cute! How clever!

(I had to think fast in a pinch when I realized I had NOTHING else to decorate the cake with....

those random colored cake decorator sprinkles were useless because they kept bouncing off the frosting. It was either cheerios or olives - Cheerios win.)

I even made the frosting from scratch - thank you very much.

Very cute.

But on a practical note Cheerios get very stale - very quickly.

Best to pick them off in order to fully enjoy the homemade frosting without wondering what the soggy gummy thing in your mouth is.

VERY cute.

And not at all stale.

Yum.

Concentration.

New toys!

Kailin was very good at "helping" Cole with his presents.

We are still working on the "mine" concept.

It is an ongoing thing.

Like for the next 10 years.

Or at least until the next birthday....

on a Sunday

2010-08-24T20:37:00.000-04:00

Another Sunday - another family day.

(see here for the first one)

We ditched plans to spend the day moving stuff and decided to instead spend the day as a family.

So glad we did.

It was magical.

Happy and peaceful and beautiful -

and I got to take more photographs of my gorgeous kiddos.

(Have I mentioned I take photos?

Spread the word people!

I would love to do portraits - especially of kids!)

minute 1-2

minute 2-3

minute 4

minute 5-6

What?

I like it!

He would have been downstream if we hadn't kept pulling him back.

We had to take his shirt off and his diaper weighed about 6lbs.

this was one of the last shots of Cole I took - so glad I stuck it out!

Checking out Cole-man surfing downstream.

Big splash!

Happy and relaxed.

Ahhhhh.

Curls.

Freckles.

Good for the soul.