I guess her name is "Gray"

S, miss artsy....had to make a collar for the cat in case she got outside. Well, the cat HATES it. G will get it off and S will see it laying on the floor and pick it back up and put it on the cat. G tolerates it tho she will walk around with it and fall asleep with it.

My Kindergartener!!

Click to enlarge cuz u just can't see it good.


S came home today with this today. OMG her writing is getting better and better check out the spacing. Don't ya love the yellow zebra hehe. Sentences, sight words and reading books....makes me a proud momma!!! Half of the school year is already over, why do they grow up??

Back in the groove.....

I can't believe its January already. That long school break was really nice and today started our first day back to reality. S is back in school, it's weird that they started them on a Tuesday vs. yesterday. We were able to sneak in a dentist appointment for S which I was nervous about but she did wonderful and didn't take my camera opppsss!! She also started up skate lessons again yesterday. She got ice skates for Christmas but we had to send them back to get a different size so we should have them for next Monday. When we got to the rink yesterday the parking lot was PACKED!! I can only imagine it is from the results of the show and that everyone wants to try it out. I like the smaller classes since u really get more for your money but thankfully they separate them according to levels of experience.

I finished up another class of school and waiting on my next book to get here. I am really not looking forward to this class. The good news, is after this class it should be smooth sailing...ok with a little ripples here and there but nothing that I can't accomplish.

So on goes my day, laundry day that is...and lil H is sad since her sister is not home. When I dropped S at school this morning she got out we said our goodbyes, we love u's, have a good day and S closes the door. H says, "Mommy, I am going to miss....Shelby" Sisterly love...I love it!!!


more news next time......

Kids Tea Set

This tea set is the CUTEST thing EVER!!! I absolutely love it...

This was a Christmas present for the kids. It's from Constructive Playthings this was money well spent. It is a six piece service set and a tea pot with a milk and sugar. The tea pot and sugar have removable lids. Online it doesn't show the chrome rack that comes with it but it is included. I got the catalog in the mail and spotted this for the girls. It's made of ceramic so I just make sure they play with it on soft surfaces so they won't accidentally break. The age limit on the web site suggests 5 yrs and older.

Christmas 08

I have fallen of the wagon with blogging as you can tell. Life has just gotten in the way holidays, my school work, kids and of course the school winter break. Preparing for Christmas ate up most of the month. So Christmas has come and gone it's sad. The kids had a great time this year its so magical when they are little. Why can't they stay little forever?

Our Tree

Making Gingerbread houses, the kids always love making these. The icing came out wonderful this year. We saved all the leftover candy from Halloween for them to use. Yes, I've been hanging on to it...no since in wasting money, right? It's all going in the trash anyway.

H inspecting her Candy Cane ornament.


to be continued...........

Here it is!!!

Her solo performance. This is from the in-laws camera. A videographer was at the show so I can't wait sit with S and watch the show together. I'll have to wait until Feb tho. They also too photos I am excited to get those back as well!!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

This show was awesome the instructors worked so hard on all of the details and choreography for all numbers. It last two hours, it started last since they had a line of people out the door to get into the show. Of course we got to the rink early to get good seats. I can't wait for spring show and next christmas. This Friday we have the family Christmas show its going to be FUN. I can't wait to put on a pair of skates and see if I can attempt to do the moves Shelby has learned. I hope H will at least try to get out on the ice I am sure she will be scared.

This was after the show she was showing off for the family hahah!!


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Ms. Kitty

Yes, we still have the mystery cat. My FIL, keeps asking when we are going to name her. S replies, "We don't know her name, we call her Kitty". Prior to Kitty showing up at the door step we had other plans for the kids and an animal but for now we have Kitty and apparently it happened this way for a reason.

Thankfully, she is a good cat. I was afraid she would tear up my new couches but we haven't had a problem. We did see a worm, YUCK!! so we got her some medicine and haven't seen any since....now to get her fixed!! After E (a friend of mine...an animal lover that has a zoo, not literally lol) saw her...she thinks she is at least a yr or so old. S has her all scrunched up in this pic so she looks bigger I think...maybe she has just gained weight since we have taken her in and a pic adds 10 lbs right?

I have been saving money on food for her, a lovely $4 coupon in the Sunday paper on IAMS cat food..ended up paying $3 for the bag!! At least she is saving me some money.

For you cat owners what kind of litter to you use?? I picked up Fresh Step but it doesn't clump like the package says it does. We haven't had the smelling issue it just doesn't clump!

Ice Skating, Ft. Bragg

So I finally remembered my camera, fresh batteries and memory card. Here it is her solo routine, minus the decor and spotlights....

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

I love it, it just warms my little heart...memories in the making, oh sweet memories!!! I just can't wait for this show.

Polar Express Train

I know seriously stop with the Christmas related blogs, right?

The Polar Express Train

It goes along with the book. You board the train head up to the North Pole to pick up Santa and enjoy hot chocolate the book reading all in your fluffy pj's. Of course the trip would not be complete without the bell. Interested, find a train near you and check out the video.

I seriously wanted to do this last year but J was in Iraq and it would not be the same without him. The drive is about 7 hours or so from here. They could quite possibly be reserved already but its worth a phone call.

Elf on the Shelf

Elf on a Shelf

OMG, I just love this and I am sooo excited that I stumbled upon this yesterday on, Our Ohana. If u have little kids that "Believe" this is a MUST!!!! U really can use an elf of your own or if u are crafty make your own. I want the book to tell the story for kids, but it would be fun to make my own elf for the kids to pass down after all it's a "tradition". This would make a fun gift for someone having a baby.

From "Elf on the Shelf" the Tradition,

This charming tradition began for our family when my children were very small. Plagued by their desire to know how Santa really knew who had been naughty or nice, I searched through the Christmas decorations for a plausible explanation. Nestled among them was the answer; a small elf doll from my own childhood. With that discovery, the idea for the elf tradition was born.

At our home the elf would arrive around the holidays, usually at Thanksgiving. His sole responsibility was to watch my children's behavior and report it to "Santa" each night. The next morning after the children awoke, they discovered the elf had returned from the "North Pole" (with some parental assistance) and was hiding in a different place. My children would race each other out of bed to try and be the first to spy him in his new position.

Over the years the tradition was perfected and rules were even introduced. For example, to better preserve his mystique the children were not allowed to touch him; however, they were allowed to talk to him. For obvious reasons, he was not allowed to reply. Eventually, my children even gave him a name - officially adopting him into the family.

Unwittingly, the tradition provided an added benefit: it helped the children to better control themselves. All it took was a gentle reminder that the "elf was watching" for errant behavior to be modified.

I never dreamed this simple tradition would lead to so many Christmas memories for our entire family. It is my earnest desire that The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition will bring as much joy to your family as it has to mine.

Make it your own,

Christmas is coming....

Since Christmas is upon us I thought I'd share some of the kids favorite things.....

How can you not love Fancy Nancy??

My mother-in-law started the girls on the Fancy Nancy book series, last year!! This little girl is so darling, the illustrations are bright, colorful and very detailed. Everything in French sounds fancy and of course my girls can not eat ice cream without making it fancy. They have easy readers too for those with kid beginning to read. I would love to see them come out with a movie!

I love IKEA!

My aunt introduced me to them if ever get a chance to go to one of the stores, GO it's a MUST!! We have the KALAS the kids textile set. I actually picked up another set when I went to the Atlanta store a couple months ago and a table and chair set too, SVALA. $40 bucks real wood with two chairs I painted it pink and purple. I love all the products we have bought from them.

Brain Quest

These are AWESOME!! They start at age 2 and go up. It's perfect one on one time with your kids while learning at the same time. We take them when we go out to dinner it kills time when you are waiting on a table. They are small enough to fit in to a purse. S sometimes opts for this instead of choosing a book at bedtime. The Brain Quest website has a listing of all the products. You can find them at Target and Toys R Us.

Melissa and Doug Responsibility Chart

S got this last Christmas, she loves it and so does mommy!! The one we have is just a single board and it has the magnets on the back. I wish I would have gotten this version instead. U can interchange the chores out on ours they gave blank ones also so you could make up whatever you wanted to add.

Leapster L-Max

S's favorite games are Letters on the Loose, Kindergarten, & Animal Genius. She has a couple other but these are the ones she plays the most. H also picks it up and draws with it, colors in pictures. They have a new version Leapster2, you can hook it up to your computer and see your childs strengths and weaknesses. I love it, it's educational and portable!!

I highly recommend the Leapster DVD's they sell them in a set of five now, Amazon has them. My kids love to watch them, which is how Shelby learned her ABC's sounds. As you can tell we are Leapfrog lovers in this house. We also have Fridge Phonics, Word Whammer, USA puzzle map & Phonic Railroad. The railroad is not as popular these days, ebay is where I got ours last year.




I have recently discovered a toy site I thought I'd share Fat Brain Toys! Go check it out they have what appears to be unique, quality toys.

Military Welcome Home Banners

20,000 Banners and Jumbo Cards for our Troops!

Do u need a sign? Better jump on the bandwagon!! Spread the word this is a great business that supports our military members

so if u need the direct link its www.buildasign.com/troops


From Build a Sign....

Hello,

I'm an employee at Buildasign.com, and we just launched a promotion in honor of Veteran's Day. We're giving military families a free customizable banner to help welcome home their loved ones returning from overseas or the option to send a free customizable jumbo card to a loved one overseas. I was wondering if you could offer me any tips or suggestions on who to get in contact with to get the message across to people that can take advantage of this promotion. Also, it would be great if you could help spread the word by posting about our promotion on your blog. The link to this promotion is www.buildasign.com/Troops.

We are giving away a total of 20,000 banners plus jumbo cards to support our troops at home and abroad. Thank you again, I greatly appreciate your time!

Best,
Katherine Chen

Santa Baby

It's here!! Her Santa Baby outfit for her routine. Actually it came weeks go but I just got around to snapping some photos. S is insisting on wearing it for her private lessons, that she is taking to learn her routine. Last week was her first private lesson and she learned the full routine she just needs to work on hand motions being sync with the music. She still has a month to get everything down and will start Saturday dress rehearsals. She is skating to Martina McBride, "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow". I added the song to my playlist so u can listen.

It's going to be a fun show. For those Fayetteville families looking for something to do its going to be $3 admission so its affordable for the whole family. I'll post the flyer soon!!

Where do u live??

Rewind to Yesterday morning, 5am.

J gets up and gets ready for work. I usually sleep in til 6 then start getting the kids up and going. So J is walking out the door and jumps in the truck to leave for PT. Well, the truck wouldn't start...so I get up to see if he needs help....he tried to jump it off and it was a no go!! So that means he has to take my car. Of course it would be the only day that I "had" to be somewhere bright and early in the am. So I come inside and start my normal morning. I get the kids up and feed them breakfast and then I hear this meowing noise that sounds like its coming from the garage. I thought maybe a cat got in the garage from when J was trying to get his truck started. I open the garage door, no cat..still hear meowing. Go open the front door and guess what I see a, kitten...mostly grey with a little white on it's chest and paws. No collar of course, I felt sorry for the thing because it was so cold outside. Immediately the kids start saying can we let him in. Time is passing and remember I have no car so that means S has to catch the bus. So she gets ready and we head down to the bus stop and the cat follows. S is saying funny things like, can I take her to school in my book bag? Do u think she will get on the bus with me? S gets on the bus and the cat follows me back home. I go about my morning, cancel my appointment then J comes home with a new battery for his truck. He puts it in and it works, woohoo!! The cat is still around walking in and out of the garage and H wants to love all over her.

Fast forward....5pm and the cat is still outside laying in my flower bed.

Hubby comes home and guess what....lets the cat in!!! The kids reply, so we can keep her!?!? J told them that we would take care of here until we can find where her home is and if no one came looking then we would talk about it. So the cat is in the house and is so friendly and its fur is short we inspect her and notice that her whiskers have been cut. We think she's about 6 months old and looks like she had been well taken care of. She has to belong to someone its just figuring out who. They must have kids that like to play with scissors.


Oh Kitty, I bet that kid who cut your whiskers misses u? Where is your momma? Where do u live?

I am sure this story will be continued, hopefully someone from our community watch group will know who the owner is!

Minestrone Soup Recipe

It's cold outside baby and it is a sure way to get warmed up!! Make it for your family, my kids even love it.

What u need:

* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 4 carrots, chopped
* 4 stalks celery, chopped
* 1 small zucchini, sliced
* 1 sweet onion, chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, chopped
* 2 dark green romaine lettuce leaves, diced<~~~~I like to use spinach instead
* 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
* 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
* 1 (14 ounce) can vegetable broth
* 4 cups water
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
* 2 cups uncooked pasta (macaroni, angel hair, small shells)

What u need to do:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
Stir in carrots, celery, onion and garlic into pot.
Mix in tomato paste, beans, broth and water.
Season with basil, oregano and salt.
Cook and stir 30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

2. Mix pasta & zucchini into pot.
Continue cooking 10 minutes, or until tender.
Stir occasionally.

3. Salt and pepper to taste.

I serve mine up with a side of bread with butter of course. Here is a yummy olive oil dip that we use to when we are not dipping in the soup.

Bread Dipping Oil

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Italian seasonings
Black Pepper
Parmesan Cheese

I don't use exact measurements just wing it really and taste until I like the flavorings!

Potty Training!!

The joys of motherhood!! The time came when I was so "over" diapers! You are tired of changing them & spending the insane amounts of money on them.

H is officially potty trained!

I am sure she will still have a few accidents, you know those when she is playing to hard and can't get to the potty fast enough. She has gone through the night for 2 weeks without having an accident. Traveled in two seven hour car trips without any incidents, just mommy I have to go potty!! Then you have to figure out which exit to get off at and hope and pray its a decent location. The transition has been challenging and took about a month but she was ready to wear big girl panties like her sister. The potty treats and success chart worked perfectly with her. So no more coupon clipping for diapers.

For those who are in the process don't give up just give it some time, it will happen!!

Review

Remember those Onion Straws I mentioned from The Pioneer Women...I finally made them today. I've been slacking on school work and I told myself if I could get 5 assignments done I could make them, sad huh. Drumroll please......I give it 5 stars!!! They tasted good, I won't cut mine so thin next time tho. I didn't have as much oil as she mentions using so had to make due. The kids and hubby liked them they are very similar to what you would get in a restaurant. I used one viladia onion and used most of the batter mixture.

Her favorite color is....

Chocolate!!!

Everything seems to be favorites to her these days. Yesterday the girls had chocolate pudding for a snack and as H was eating she repeatedly said, "Chocolate, is my favorite color". Of course S chimed in to correct her, "Hailey, chocolate is not a color..it's really brown". Hailey ignored her and kept diggin' up her favorite chocolate pudding. Kids are so funny!

She is so much like her momma. How can u not love this lil face.

My mini-me H!

I took this picture while S was at ice skating practice hence the winter wardrobe, lol.

Fishing

This past weekend they held a Wildlife Expo at a local fish hatchery. The event had wildlife, the kids could kayak (ours were too small), fish, shoot air guns, archery...get the picture. We really went for the fishing since its an opportunity for the kids to catch a couple fish and of course throw back. I do have to admit I get as excited as they do when I catch one, haha. Here are a few pics from our day!

Can u believe how big they have gotten??

H reeling in a cat fish.
She didn't want any help, Miss Independent!

It's been forever!!

I am ALIVE!! Sometime has really passed since I have posted but I am going to try and get back in the swing of things. After all my husband has made it home safely!!! I am so glad it's all over, your really don't know what its like unless you have been through it.

So a little update, lets roll back to where I left off........

Hubby left June 07 for Iraq and life got in the way with me running this place alone. It's never fun but someone has to do it. So December S was in a wedding which was an hour or so north of here so that helped a little with the holidays. I was still able to see some of our family. At this point which was less than halfway of deployment I drove J nuts with asking about R&R. For those who have no idea what I am talking about that is Rest & Relaxation way from the desert. It's 18 days (because he was doing a 15mth tour) which they end up taking away from your leave days (vacation days). It should be free time but that is the military for ya it's never they way it should be. Ok back to life and to make a long story short he showed up on the door step the day after Christmas. I was completely speechless. Christmas was I think the hardest day for me out of the whole deployment at least its the day I remember the most. With J showing up the following morning made things a little bit better. Once I got over the shock of him being home I immediately thought about him leaving. I guess with the suprise I didn't have time to prepare myself for that next adjustment. He was home still mid Jan, the kids loved every minute of it and I knew him leaving was gonna be hard on them.

Earlier in the year S started ice skating lessons and was still in Pre-K. New and old friends came into my life and it was great because they kept me going. H turned 2 in Feb and family from NY was down to celebrate with us. I started school in April, fun fun. J's time was cut short, imagine that he came home mid July so 14 mths is what he ended up doing. S turned 5 the day J came home from Iraq, two days later she started K. This school that she is going to is year round. J's leave time started and we took time and went and visited family and went up to the mountains.

So that is a brief update on life.... more soon!