Lucky Caitlyn got one more birthday treat this weekend -- she got to meet up with some friends from her old school at a birthday party. And guess where it was? At the roller rink! She got to go roller skating again today! :)
Sunday, March 20, 2016
One more birthday treat...
Lucky Caitlyn got one more birthday treat this weekend -- she got to meet up with some friends from her old school at a birthday party. And guess where it was? At the roller rink! She got to go roller skating again today! :)
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Happy 9th Birthday, Caitlyn!
So, we started off with some presents: a stuffed owl that Autumn made and a gift card to JoAnn (the sewing & fabric shop).
Ate a yummy breakfast of scrambled eggs and naan.
Went roller skating!
(And some of us drove cars in the arcade...)
Later on, we played the board game 'Life' (another one of her presents).
At bedtime, we gave her 2 new books and called it a day.
All in all, a great day!
Sweet dreams, Caitlyn. You've come a long way, baby.
Friday, March 18, 2016
We're baking a cake!
The Pioneer Woman says, "Nothing tastes more delicious than food you cook yourself."
Today we decided to test that concept for our newest creative challenge. Why not bake a layer cake from scratch for Caitlyn's birthday? We've never done that before! Usually I'll just pick one up at the grocery store or maybe bake a 13" x 9" cake from a box, but no, not this time Today we decided to make a 2-layer white cake with creamy white frosting (Caitlyn's choice).
We worked on it after school today, and this is what we found out:
Oh my goodness! The frosting was out of this world! We are waiting until the actual birthday tomorrow to try the rest of the cake. But so far, I would say the Pioneer Woman is right...
BUT...
You realize just how fattening cake is! There was an obscene amount of sugar and shortening in this one! I don't even want to repeat the amounts.
AND...
It's not easy. My cakes were sticking to the pans and hard to get out. It's also slightly lopsided. Then there is the issue of frosting. It is SO not easy to get it to look smooth! I spent a half hour obsessing about it and then gave up, telling myself it's good enough and will be eaten up too fast to matter anyway!
PLUS...
We broke the hand mixer. The frosting was just too creamy. So, you might need some special equipment if you want to make a habit of this 'from scratch' cooking thing.
AND...
The kids lost interest about halfway through and ended up playing their games on my computer. It really did take a long time.
BUT...
We are so ready to devour this cake tomorrow! Hopefully it was worth the effort...fingers crossed! :)
3/19: THE VERDICT:
Was it the best cake we ever made? Probably...it was so rich and delicious! It wasn't the prettiest cake I've ever seen, but it was tasty.
Did we make some memories yesterday? Definitely!
Uh oh...now I've raised the bar on baking birthday cakes...hmmm...maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all...
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
The leprechauns visited us and brought us this pot of gold! (Yes, they're chocolate!)
In the spirit of "green day," we finished planting all our seeds! Now, in addition to rosemary and thyme, we have parsley, cilantro, basil, and tomatoes. I'll be happy if anything grows! The kids are having fun checking on the plants and watering them every day. :)
Thanks for reading!
KK
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| A few of my birthday cards! :) |
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Star student Kira!
THE THYME SEEDS HAVE SPROUTED! (Sorry for shouting, but we just noticed this last night!)
And Kira is sick...maybe Mommy too. Strike that last comment, getting sick is not an option! I mean, I've worked at this job (motherhood) for 3,282 days in a row without a single sick day (but who's counting?)
Now, let's hear it for Kira, our star student of the week! I had her very first conference on Monday, and her teacher loves her! She especially loves Kira's sense of humor and the fact that Kira is the only one who gets her jokes. :)
I also love the preschool report card. It's so straightforward. For example, Kira is good at sharing and following directions, but needs work on cutting and stairs. Wow! This is totally something we can work with. I'm okay with her not alternating feet on the stairs going down. In December, Kira had a big stair accident where she fell down 15 stairs and landed on her head! She checked out perfectly fine at the ER, but I still cannot get that awful image out of MY head...it was the scariest thing I've ever seen in real life.
Guess what? Kira can read! (Just kidding!) But yesterday she pretended to. It was my turn to read a story to her preschool class, and little Miss Kira stood right by my side and said all the words right along with me. We've only been reading this book (Dr. Seuss' ABC's) for the past 2 years She is SO not a shy one!
But back to the reading (or not reading)...it's not for lack of her sisters' trying! I swear, I have the craziest kids. They get home from a long day of school and what's the first thing they want to do? Play school, of course. Caitlyn and Autumn are the teachers, and Kira is the student.
They got her to write her letters the right way (usually she writes them backwards, like a mirror image, right to left). For example, here is the usual Kira writing. (Don't worry, her teacher promised me she's not dyslexic!)
And here is her writing from "home school."
Pretty good for a 3-year-old, I think!
I'm just trying to stay out of all this so that it keeps being fun. I remember that Caitlyn used to love learning anything new when she was a toddler, just soaked it all up like a sponge. Well, Autumn was the exact opposite. Whenever I would try to teach her something school-related she would say, "Mommy, that's boring. Can we do something else?" I finally backed off, and she learned just fine at school. So, with Kira, I will leave her progress up to her two talented sisters!
They are all too funny...they go on field trips to the garden, the grocery store, the playground...
Caitlyn writes up all the lesson plans, and Autumn takes over when Caitlyn is in school. The other day, they were trying to teach Kira rounding. They have a cute little rhyme they learned in school to help them out: "Five or above, give it a shove. Four or below, let it go." Well, Autumn and Kira were rounding prices all morning long at the grocery store and Kira was starting to get tired of it. So, by the end of the morning, when Autumn asked her, "Do you round $1.29 up or down?" Kira just said, "Updownupdownupdownupdownup." What a gooseball! That's our Kira.
And Kira is sick...maybe Mommy too. Strike that last comment, getting sick is not an option! I mean, I've worked at this job (motherhood) for 3,282 days in a row without a single sick day (but who's counting?)
Now, let's hear it for Kira, our star student of the week! I had her very first conference on Monday, and her teacher loves her! She especially loves Kira's sense of humor and the fact that Kira is the only one who gets her jokes. :)
I also love the preschool report card. It's so straightforward. For example, Kira is good at sharing and following directions, but needs work on cutting and stairs. Wow! This is totally something we can work with. I'm okay with her not alternating feet on the stairs going down. In December, Kira had a big stair accident where she fell down 15 stairs and landed on her head! She checked out perfectly fine at the ER, but I still cannot get that awful image out of MY head...it was the scariest thing I've ever seen in real life.
Guess what? Kira can read! (Just kidding!) But yesterday she pretended to. It was my turn to read a story to her preschool class, and little Miss Kira stood right by my side and said all the words right along with me. We've only been reading this book (Dr. Seuss' ABC's) for the past 2 years She is SO not a shy one!
But back to the reading (or not reading)...it's not for lack of her sisters' trying! I swear, I have the craziest kids. They get home from a long day of school and what's the first thing they want to do? Play school, of course. Caitlyn and Autumn are the teachers, and Kira is the student.
They got her to write her letters the right way (usually she writes them backwards, like a mirror image, right to left). For example, here is the usual Kira writing. (Don't worry, her teacher promised me she's not dyslexic!)
And here is her writing from "home school."
Pretty good for a 3-year-old, I think!
I'm just trying to stay out of all this so that it keeps being fun. I remember that Caitlyn used to love learning anything new when she was a toddler, just soaked it all up like a sponge. Well, Autumn was the exact opposite. Whenever I would try to teach her something school-related she would say, "Mommy, that's boring. Can we do something else?" I finally backed off, and she learned just fine at school. So, with Kira, I will leave her progress up to her two talented sisters!
They are all too funny...they go on field trips to the garden, the grocery store, the playground...
Caitlyn writes up all the lesson plans, and Autumn takes over when Caitlyn is in school. The other day, they were trying to teach Kira rounding. They have a cute little rhyme they learned in school to help them out: "Five or above, give it a shove. Four or below, let it go." Well, Autumn and Kira were rounding prices all morning long at the grocery store and Kira was starting to get tired of it. So, by the end of the morning, when Autumn asked her, "Do you round $1.29 up or down?" Kira just said, "Updownupdownupdownupdownup." What a gooseball! That's our Kira.
Monday, March 14, 2016
Spring fevers...
So much for spring fever...seems like everyone around here is getting a real fever...as in 102 degrees Fahrenheit...as in sick. :( Caitlyn stayed home from school today, Ryan is working from home, Autumn made a quick recovery and went to afternoon kindergarten (in my defense, she never got above 100). Kira and I are the last 2 standing. I really hope they all get better soon...poor things...they had better not all be sick on my birthday!
Speaking of birthdays, here are some fun facts: Caitlyn and I have birthdays 2 days apart. Caitlyn shares a birthday with her grandma in India. And Autumn shares a birthday with her grandma in Minnesota. I guess God wanted to be fair to both grandmas! After Caitlyn and Autumn were born, the grandpas started putting in orders (just kidding!)
And now, ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to announce the newest addition to our family...Coral!
She is a Betta fish, which I thought we could handle, seeing that they are about the easiest pet on the planet. (She is really a he...isn't it a shame the males are always the pretty ones?) This was the first birthday present for Caitlyn and me, which we got over the weekend. (We celebrate our birthdays all month long around here!)
Also (confession time) I ordered a present from Amazon, which came last Friday. Isn't it beautiful?
I would have taken a picture of the waffles we made for breakfast yesterday, but they were gone too quickly! If you come and visit us, I'll make some for you too! :)
On a final note, we have started the herb garden, although we don't really know what we are doing. We are following the directions on the seed packets and hoping for the best!
Now we are starting to feel like Frog and Toad. Do you remember that children's story where they plant seeds and then have such a hard time waiting that they start doing crazy things, like playing the violin to the seeds, reading poems to them, and yelling, "Now seeds, start growing!" If we're lucky, we may have some seedlings by Easter...will keep you posted.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading!
xoxo
KK
Speaking of birthdays, here are some fun facts: Caitlyn and I have birthdays 2 days apart. Caitlyn shares a birthday with her grandma in India. And Autumn shares a birthday with her grandma in Minnesota. I guess God wanted to be fair to both grandmas! After Caitlyn and Autumn were born, the grandpas started putting in orders (just kidding!)
And now, ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to announce the newest addition to our family...Coral!
She is a Betta fish, which I thought we could handle, seeing that they are about the easiest pet on the planet. (She is really a he...isn't it a shame the males are always the pretty ones?) This was the first birthday present for Caitlyn and me, which we got over the weekend. (We celebrate our birthdays all month long around here!)
Also (confession time) I ordered a present from Amazon, which came last Friday. Isn't it beautiful?
I would have taken a picture of the waffles we made for breakfast yesterday, but they were gone too quickly! If you come and visit us, I'll make some for you too! :)
On a final note, we have started the herb garden, although we don't really know what we are doing. We are following the directions on the seed packets and hoping for the best!
Now we are starting to feel like Frog and Toad. Do you remember that children's story where they plant seeds and then have such a hard time waiting that they start doing crazy things, like playing the violin to the seeds, reading poems to them, and yelling, "Now seeds, start growing!" If we're lucky, we may have some seedlings by Easter...will keep you posted.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading!
xoxo
KK
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Hi everyone! I just created this blog to keep you updated on the kids: Caitlyn (soon to be 9), Autumn (6), and Kira (3). Hope you enjoy reading about their adventures!!!
Today, my little Easter bunnies (Autumn & Kira) were hopping around the living room before breakfast! They love wearing their bunny ears. Yes, even to the bus stop.
Which reminds me, Caitlyn doesn't want us to come to the bus stop anymore. :( I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. Do you think it has anything to do with the bunny ears? 3rd graders are WAY too cool for that, you know.
What else is new? Oh yeah, we just bought our very first house about 2 months ago.
I guess you could say that we are finally settled in now because the Hello Kitty gumball machine is up and running!
Other updates:
Autumn finally got her ears pierced! (It was supposed to be a birthday present, but on her birthday last November, she had an ear infection. Plus there was so much stuff going on with buying a house, that we only just now got around to it. Better late than never, right?)
She also lost her front tooth on the very same day she got her ears pierced! (Feb 26)
Caitlyn made a pair of lazy pants at her last sewing class (Feb 27). Seriously, the girl has some talent! She is definitely making good use of the sewing machine. (Thanks, Aunt Dandy!)
A few weekends ago, the kids had a lot of fun flying kites with Daddy in the big backyard (aka common area -- that we don't have to mow...hahaha...I love townhouses).
And the girls wanted to have a spa day last weekend. Yes, complete with cucumber slices for their eyes...lol!
I have to say, even I enjoyed the sugar foot scrub. Did wonders for my old feet.
This week, the weather has been gorgeous! In the high 70s and we are getting spring fever. I had to get out the summer clothes last night so they could wear shorts and t-shirts to school today!
We are thinking about starting an herb garden and are really enjoying watching the birds at the feeders on our deck every day. It really is so beautiful here in our new neighborhood. You would never know we are in the middle of a major commercial center. The mall is 5 minutes away.
Maybe this weekend Ryan will fire up the grill for the first time!
That's all for now...thanks for reading. :)
Love you all!
KK
Today, my little Easter bunnies (Autumn & Kira) were hopping around the living room before breakfast! They love wearing their bunny ears. Yes, even to the bus stop.
Which reminds me, Caitlyn doesn't want us to come to the bus stop anymore. :( I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. Do you think it has anything to do with the bunny ears? 3rd graders are WAY too cool for that, you know.
What else is new? Oh yeah, we just bought our very first house about 2 months ago.
I guess you could say that we are finally settled in now because the Hello Kitty gumball machine is up and running!
Other updates:
Autumn finally got her ears pierced! (It was supposed to be a birthday present, but on her birthday last November, she had an ear infection. Plus there was so much stuff going on with buying a house, that we only just now got around to it. Better late than never, right?)
She also lost her front tooth on the very same day she got her ears pierced! (Feb 26)
Caitlyn made a pair of lazy pants at her last sewing class (Feb 27). Seriously, the girl has some talent! She is definitely making good use of the sewing machine. (Thanks, Aunt Dandy!)
A few weekends ago, the kids had a lot of fun flying kites with Daddy in the big backyard (aka common area -- that we don't have to mow...hahaha...I love townhouses).
And the girls wanted to have a spa day last weekend. Yes, complete with cucumber slices for their eyes...lol!
I have to say, even I enjoyed the sugar foot scrub. Did wonders for my old feet.
This week, the weather has been gorgeous! In the high 70s and we are getting spring fever. I had to get out the summer clothes last night so they could wear shorts and t-shirts to school today!
We are thinking about starting an herb garden and are really enjoying watching the birds at the feeders on our deck every day. It really is so beautiful here in our new neighborhood. You would never know we are in the middle of a major commercial center. The mall is 5 minutes away.
Maybe this weekend Ryan will fire up the grill for the first time!
That's all for now...thanks for reading. :)
Love you all!
KK
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