"Let's Go To the Movies!"

Well shoot! I just blogged a paragraph and now it is floating off somewhere in cyberspace & I'm too tired to retype it.
So the short, less cute, version of the story is this.
We took our little princess to see a princess movie.
It was great.
She loved LOVED LOVED it!
Much popcorn was consumed.
No tears
No wiggles
just fun & smiles
and one tired family
Great Memory.

The following photos are in backwards order. Yep, I keep messing up this blog post.

Yep, the perfectionist in me cares. Nope, not going to change it, because I'm sleepy

and because I'm sure no one cares about the order but me. :)

This photo taken when we returned home from the movie.

She was wound up, wanted to be a princess (fairy?) and wear mommy's shoes. OK Silly! lol

Dear KJ,

Mommy & Daddy LOVED sharing this experience with you. We loved watching the movie through your eyes. You are our princess for SURE! Looking forward to our next movie date.

Praying your family enjoys many blessings in the New Year!

Scarlet Stars Christmas

Shutterfly has classic, elegant Christmas invitations for your party.

View the entire collection of cards.

Family Christmas Photo Shoot

Little Miss K loves to wiggle! Daddy is not a fan of photo shoots and since photo shoots with a wiggly two year old take longer, well....... let's just say Daddy doesn't love photo shoots. :)
Baby E, he LOVES to cheese it up and I think even though he is officially on the move (crawling), he is always willing to stop and pose and melt your heart!
As for me, I don't mind a photo shoot. It's probably the one time I am the most patient. Trying to stay calm and patient hoping it will rub off on the two family members who don't find this event so amusing. And also praying the photographer doesn't hate us when it's all said and done, because let's face it - a photo shoot with our family can be somewhat of a circus (or crazy town).

Alas, here are a few shots a sweet gal at church was able to pull off. Although there were wiggles, there were no tears or screaming red faces of tantrum so it was fantastic in that regard.

The above picture is the definition of our independent girl. Doesn't want her picture taken. Then it's mommy & daddy's turn and she doesn't want to be left out and requests to have her photo taken. Silly girl. :)

And this boy...does he melt your heart or what?
Yes, he is THIS happy 98% of the time!

And really, most days they actually do play together this sweetly.
That is, unless mommy is on the phone which pretty much equals a competition for my attention and they mean business! LOL

Seriously over due photo update

Sorry I dropped off the face of the blog world.
Here are some fun photos of the past few months.
Check it out...Baby E has 4 teeth. His two top teeth are so cute and funny!

Kids are good. Mom and Dad are good. Life is busy and full. Love it!

Itching...

I am Itch, Itch, Itching to bake bake bake!
On my list:
Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins
Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins
Pumpkin Ginger Cheesecake
Apple Pecan Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes (yep that is ONE thing!)
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Mulled Cider

Hmmmm....
oh and RANDOM but some Grilled cheese & tomato sandwich which involves using panko bread crumbs and looks heavenly

I feelin' like I need to host a brunch. I may feed an army if someone will buy the groceries and watch my kids so I can bake it. :)

One thing at a time I guess.

I did try making Apple Cider Doughnuts this week - EPIC FAIL! I think it was God's way of telling me not to eat fried things. LOL

The Aunt Sandie Blanket

There are some babies and kids out there who have the privilege of owning what I will call
The Aunt Sandie Blanket
it is a pretty special blanket. So silky and cuddly. There are different sizes, different designs sewn on, but each one made for a special baby, made by a special friend, and made to bring happiness and comfort.
Thank You Sandie for making my kids something so special.
(if I can wake my daughter up & pry her purple Aunt Sandie Blanket from her grip, I may get a picture of her with her blanket and post it...IF. LOL)

the cast

In my previous post about vacation you will notice that KJ has a cast on her arm. I realize that some of you may not have heard that she fractured her arm just above her elbow.
So if you haven't heard, that is why she has the cast. She was sitting on a picnic table bench, straddling it, when she put her foot up on the bench to play with the velcro on her new shoes she lost her balance and fell off the bench landing on her elbow first on the hard patio.
Thankfully it was just a fracture and not a break that moved the bone out of place. She is not taking any medicine and seems to act as though she has always had a cast. She has not asked once to take it off. She is so tough.

the road slowly traveled...

When I go on a trip I really like to drive straight there. Stop for the bathroom as quick as possible, grab food from a drive-thru and then relax and enjoy the destination. Having small children does not work for this kind of travel.
So, patience, a new El*mo doll, a generic travel magnado*odle, a travel dvd player, Mary Po*pins and some Baby Eins*tein videos, a GG (Great Grandma) for back up/help, and a LOT of prayer and we hit the road for a 10hour drive with a 2year old and a 5month old. And you know what...God was with us, the kids did ok (not fabulous but not bad either) and we made it. We had a blast while we were gone and the ride home wasn't as bad either. We did more than just survive and I'm happy we decided to go for it. I'm happy we took GG with us. And finally, I'm happy to share a few pictures/highlights of our trip with you.


We stayed at the YMC*A of the Ro*ckies in Est*es Park.
Here are some pictures I took of our 2br mid size cabin (it was only 1 yr old, and a comfortable, great location, recommended place to stay.

Happy Birthday KJ!

Today our sweet daughter is offically 2 years old! We are so blessed to call her our daughter. We love her more than words could ever express. We are grateful to God for his gracious gift of KJ and do not take for granted that is it certainly a blessing to have a happy healthy little girl.

This weekend we had a big party with lots of family and a few friends to celebrate our special girl. Here are some pictures of the craziness and fun! (and a little of my party planning craziness, because I LOVE to celebrate birthdays - Love. It.)

KJ loves animals, espcially elephants and pretty much any animal you can find in a zoo. We go to the zoo often and if we don't go for a couple of weeks, she will ask to go. So I thought she would enjoy an animal/safari themed birthday. Then several months ago I found this dress on sale:

It is difficult to see in the above picture but on the far left and far right of the dress this little elephant and monkey are on there too. SO CUTE! The dress is from Gy*mbo*ree. The theme and the dress inspired this homemade birthday invitation:I wanted to order this cake (except in purple rather than blue & with the #2 on top) from Cheri's Bakery (I LOVE Cheri's), however my husband asked if I would put my own baking skills to the test...I hesitated...I complained....and complained...and spent more money on supplies than it would have taken to just order the cake....but it ended up looking pretty cute and I made the animals on the cake to look more like the animals on her birthday dress so that was cute. And the cake was very yummy. The locally owned popcorn shop made a batch of purple & green (grape & green apple) popcorn which I displayed on the food table in a fun tall vase but also I put in baggies (as shown here) for party favors, with foam craft animal heads on craft sticks that are suppose to be puppets but I've found make great bookmarks! So cute and so yummy! The adults enjoyed the popcorn as much as the kids! Here is the Birthday Girl, with her party dress, cake and birthday balloons! There are about 6 people with cameras in front of her taking her picture...she just wants CAKE! ;) After a lot of spilled food on her dress, presents and SO MUCH FUN, here she is at the end of the night (celebrating a birthday AND a K-State Win...what more could a girl want?! not much I tell ya, not much!)

Here is a slide show of more pictures from the big party:

Found this idea today...

I hope to find this book locally soon so I can flip through it and see if I want to buy it for our family. Reviews I've read are favorable and I think it could be a great way to share my love of food, "cheesy" fun, and family all together!
If you've read or tried this book, let me know...
I will keep you posted if I try it out! Maybe if I don't love the book it will at least inspire me to come up with a few ideas of my own.
Friday Night Bites by Karen Berman

Baby E Update & Pics

Well it seems that Baby E doesn't get many posts on the blog. Poor Baby! KJ is just full of so much action and Baby E is just learning to move and groove so I haven't had much to post of him that I feel is super interesting to anyone but mommy. However, he is pretty stinkin cute and I feel you need to see this little man more often! Plus he is getting quite active these days.
Here is a slide show of our little guy, or not so little guy.
3-4 months old.

Soon to be 2!

Well our little sweetheart of a daughter is going to be 2 years old very soon. Her party is just around the corner and we are looking forward to celebrating 2 wonderful years of all things KJ! Those of you getting an invite to the party will notice the invitation says, "no presents needed" this is indeed true. The girl has plenty. However, a few of you have asked what she would enjoy so if you just want some ideas (Aunt Kim ;) ) here are a few...

iTunes Gift Card - so we can download music for her to listen to, she loves to dance and sing.

DVD's - Elmo's World or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse are her two favorite shows currently. Please no Dora videos - she yells everything 3 times (Dora that is) and it drives us crazy!

Books - She LOVES books! Here are some favorites that we get from the Library but that we do not currently own.

Blocks - any kind really, but here are a couple of ideas I found pictures of online.Bath toys - I would love for her to have some foam ABC's for the bath tub, I found these (sassy brand) at Target Online, they also come with 123's which I thought was pretty great.
Paints - washable of course. Or any Crayola Color Wonder paper, coloring pages, etc. She has Color Wonder markers that only color on the special paper - AWESOME!
So there ya have it. Ideas for the little munchkin, if you want them.

A Girl's Best Friend...

KJ had an adventure today. I've been wanting to get her ears pierced for over a year now. After talking to several moms, her pediatrician, and the accessory store, today we took the plunge.
She was SO brave. She did cry but only for about 30 seconds, seriously I promise she cried less than a minute and the she plopped her lollypop back in her mouth and asked to see her pretty.
Thanks to Chelsea for meeting us there and taking pictures.
And diamonds may be a girls best friend, but for now KJ will have to settle for CZ to be a good enough friend. ;)
Here is a slide show of the adventure:

On this day...

August 9th, 2006 my husband proposed to me.
(awwww...)
Although we had been talking about marriage, we were dating long distance and I really did not expect to see him on that particular day. He caught me by surprise, with the help of some of my friends.

When I lived in Manhattan I often spent my Quiet Times with God at the top of the Eastside of Old Stadium. It's quiet there, I can think there, it is just one of my favorite places in my favorite town and I love it.
In early August 2005, I was having one of those quiet moments with God, in Old Stadium at the top of the Eastside.
Having been single for a good 10 years, and by single I mean...no dates...none...desert people - desert. And due to some other events in my life at the time that particular day I was really in the dumps. I was crying out to God about it all, I mean crying hard, crying so hard I took my socks off to use as tissue (that part still cracks me up, but I had somewhere to be soon and couldn't go with snot on my shirt, so socks it was. lol)

Anyway, fast forward a year, I went through lots of healing, learning, maturing,etc. and was in a relationship with a great guy (whom I had dated 10 years previous when we were in college, but that's another story). He had no idea about my crying talk with God in Old Stadium, I had never told him. He did know that I loved to spend time with God there.
It was August 9th, 2007 and 107 degrees outside (I'm serious, it was HOT that day), a friend of mine tells me she needs me to come to Old Stadium to help her with her car, when I get there she says she wants to show me something, I think she is NUTS, it is 107 outside, but I agree to look.
I start guessing what she wants me to see, I must have been overheated because I ask funny things like, "Oh my goodness, is Bill Snyder in there?" (I was serious - am I obsessed with Kstate football & Bill or what?!) she told me now and to just come.

As I came around the corner I saw nothing, and then I looked up and sitting at the top of the Westside of Old Stadium was Adam. I was SO surprised. I screamed, "SHUT UP!" ;) Nice and lady like.
He stood up and I walked up to him.
He got down on one knee, said some wonderful things and asked me to be his wife.

I enthusiastically said, "YES!"

We got married 3months later and this has been an amazing 4 years.
Thank you God for hearing my cries, the gift of a man who loves You, loves me, and loves family and others.
I'm so happy, even when I have complaints about him (because He's not perfect, I know I'm not either), I know he is the Best and I love him tons!!!

Baby E finds his thumb...

Here is a little slide show of our growing boy. He has found his thumb and he has also found it's a great way to snuggle up and relax your way to sleep, so our good sleeper has become a GREAT sleeper over the past few weeks. He is cutting his first tooth, slobber is everywhere and he finds his finger to be entertaining.
At 4 months he weighs 15.7 lbs, is 25 3/4 inches long and LOVES to smile and laugh (although he becomes serious when I try to catch his smile on camera, little stinker!)

Thoughts on this Fabulous Friday

Top Three Things on my mind right now:
(You are just dying to read this I'm sure!)

***(Not on this list but still on my mind is "Will I finally win the anniversary edition kitchen aid mixer with the amazing glass bowl the Pioneer Woman is giving away? Please Please Please?! But really, I'm only thinking about that a little. Just a little. ;) )

#3 - Made this last night
Bang Bang Shrimp
if you've eaten at Bonefish Grill - you know what I'm talking about. SO yummy! This recipe is fabulous, panko bread crumbs TOTALLY make this dish.
I will say if you want a short cut that would be close to the original then you could just follow the recipe for the sauce, then use frozen breaded shrimp, bake the shrimp in the oven and then toss in the sauce. It would be very close, but not exact.
I served it with steamed broccoli and fresh strawberries since we were eating fried food tossed in a mayo based sauce, I needed something to make me feel less guilty. :)

#2- My husband is embarking on the "Patio Project" -
this means I may not see him or talk to him (unless it is about designing a patio) until mid August. He is a focused individual. I do love it though because things get done and they are done well. He told me the other night (in regards to the patio), "It's a good thing you're married to me, because if you weren't you couldn't afford me." He's so funny but so right at the same time.
Thanks Honey for saving us lots of money and doing a fantastic job on our home improvements!

#1 - ANNIE!!!!!!
Tomorrow (literally!) - Tomorrow! My sweet, hardworking husband is going to .....wait for it....wait for it....TAKE A BREAK from the Patio Project and take me to dinner & to see "Annie" the musical just because I love it! And it is only showing this week!
I was in dance classes from the age of 3-11. I LOVED dance. I LOVED Tap! What little girl doesn't want to sing and dance? My dance class did a tap dance to "It's a Hard Knock Life" and every little 3yr old girl wore an Annie Red & Black costume complete with an Orange Wig! Is that the cutest thing ever? Ok maybe a little creepy too, to see 15 little girls all looking just like Annie and tapping their little hearts out - but it was cute and I got to BE Annie. Oh man! Loved it.
I had the record - the vinyl record of the Annie Soundtrack. I would sing my little heart out. Who knows how old I was, elementary school anyway. I wore out the VHS movie of Annie. My parents gave me a golden heart locket JUST LIKE ANNIE'S - it even is made to look broken and says, "I love you" on it.
And when I was 8 years old....one of my TOP childhood memories EVER....I went to the Crown Uptown Dinner Theatre and saw "Annie" performed LIVE!
So here I am, one month shy of being 33 years old, and I am just as excited as that little 8 year old girl to see "Annie"
and my husband is going to endure it with me. Thanks Adam!

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I Love Ya Tomorrow.....You're Only a Day Away!

Off to sing my way through the next 24 hours! ;)

Bed Head! :)

Meet "Little Miss Crazy Hair."

It's true, many times when we go to get her out of her crib in the morning we scoop her out of her crib and say, "Well, Hello! Crazy Hair!" She laughs and repeats, "Crazy Hair" in her cute little almost 2 year old voice.

So while she munches on toast and fruit I have the great pleasure of taming the beast - her hair!

It really isn't that tangled and combs out easier than you might think.

I'm sure someday she will be proud to display these crazy hair photos in a wedding slide show, or maybe not.
A little water spray and a few comb-overs later and she's all ready to go!

It's about this time that she & Mickey breakout singing...

"Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog - It's a Brand New Day, Whatcha Waitin' For? Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog!"

What do you choose?

Hope or Despair? What do you choose?
Here is an excerpt from the Loux family blog. It is a quote that was given to Renee after her husband had died unexpectedly.
Click on the quote to go to the original post if you'd like.

[She] then began to share some reflections that her pastor had written while he was battling terminal brain cancer for over 19 months.
“Hope and despair are not opposites. They are cut from the very same cloth, made from the very same material, shaped from the very same circumstances. Most of all, every life finds itself forced to choose one from the other, one day at a time, one circumstance after another.

The only difference between the two is that despair shapes an attitude of mind; hope creates a quality of soul.

Despair colors the way we look at things, makes us suspicious of the future, makes us negative about the present.

Hope, on the other hand, takes life on its own terms, knows that whatever happens God lives in it, and expects that, whatever its twists and turns, it will ultimately yield its good to those who live it well. When tragedy strikes, when trouble comes, when life disappoints us, we stand at the crossroads between hope and despair, torn and hurting.

Despair cements us in the present; hope sends us dancing around dark corners trusting in a tomorrow we cannot see.

Despair says that there is no place to go but here. Hope says that God is waiting for us someplace else. Begin again.”

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
I thought I would share these words with you because they keep circling in my mind. Asking me what I have chose in past circumstances, what I would choose in a present or future circumstance, what and how I will pray for others around me who need hope. I pray that these words will bless someone else. Remind others to pray for hope. Reminding us that Hope is real. We are not alone. God is with us. We are God's children and we are not alone. Praise Him! Thank Him for loving us, for Hope and a future. A future where we will dance and sing.

Inspiring, Beautiful, Humbling...

My friend Christy posted this link on her blog
http://louxfamilyblog.com/

a link to what? A family's story. An adoption story(ies). A Life Story. A story of mission and focus. A story about what is important in life. A story that through tears brought me a reminder of perspective.

If you have a minute swing over to this blog. Read the July 3rd post but, even more, read the June 29th post. Beauty. Life. Mission. Perspective. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. The POWER of God.

Please excuse my fragment sentences, I honestly have no words to convey all that is stirring in my heart and soul as I read this family's story.

Beautifully Stirred,
H

New Playdate TIME...

ok if you are coming to the Park for Playdates on Wednesdays, I'm changing the time to 9am.

The heat index is going to be in the 100's and today at 9:30 it was already pretty hot & humid.

So see ya at 9am rather than 10.

If it is too hot then we can go to the library next door and let the kids play at the puzzle table or read books or we can go beg the shaved ice guy down the road to open up early. LOL

Happy Birthday To ME!!!!

Ok, so It's not my birthday...YET! But I'm totally excited about a recipe I found today for a cheesecake and for my birthday I'm making my own Birthday Cheesecake! I've got about 6 weeks to wait but I'm ok with that.
If you too want to make this cheesecake you can find the recipe at
My Kitchen Cafe
I found it via Foodgawker.
I love foodgawker. I AM a Foodgawker.
I will sign off now. I'm sure you're not even reading this post anymore; you are just looking at the photo drooling & imagining what this must taste like and when you can try it and drink a yummy cup of coffee. That's what I am imagining.
August 17th Baby! Who wants to party with me? LOL

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day from two spunky independent kiddos! ;)

Catch up...

I've had so many things to blog & just havent had the time.
In May we had our family reunion. KJ had a blast playing, meeting new cousins and riding a horse.
Baby E just keeps growing and growing as you will see. 3months old and already a whopping 14.8 lbs!!
KJ has found she loves stickers and finds them and sticks them to things over and over again. A few weeks ago she found a sticker on some potatoes I had bought, while I was unloading groceries she found the potatoes, removed the sticker and stuck in on her brother. I didn't notice until I went to pick him up that she had done this...evidentally Baby E was temporarially on sale for 99cents! lol The sticker was removed. We are keeping him! :)
Enjoy the slide shows. Hope you enjoy catching up with us.

Baby Shower Cake

Two weeekends ago I co-hosted a babyshower for a friend.
I used the baby bedding she had picked out as inspiration for the cake I made.
I'm not a real baker and with two kids under two and everything else on my plate I decided now was not the time to experiment with fondant to make jungle animals so I used some wooden & craft foam animals I found to help me decorate the cake.
It turned out pretty cute.

Ahhhh...

Sorry to have abandoned my blog and to have not even posted pictures in forever.

Over the past few weeks I have taken 284 pictures.

Attended a family reunion.

Spent 3 great days with a dear friend and her super cute daughter.

Made a baby shower cake.

Made a Father's day cake.

Went to one bridal shower and 3 baby showers.

Had Baby E's baby dedication.

Celebrated Father's Day.

This weekend my husband is helping at the GTO Nationals and we have a wedding to attend (Hubby is excited about the GTO Nationals, I'm excited about Manhattan and a Wedding!).
Next weekend we have another wedding and then we have...

NOTHING!

Well, other than laundry, kids, the usual. Ahhh...the usual. I'm looking forward to the usual, and a little fun thrown in.

I hope to share a few of the 284 pictures with you.

In the mean time here is a picture of KJ snuggling with her doll that my Grandma made for me when I was little.
KJ has been calling the doll "Chloe" the name of her friend who stayed with us for a few days. The doll doesn't look like her friend but she loves them both and hey, if you can't have your real friend then just name you doll the same thing and maybe it's kind of the same until you can be together. Hey, it works for a toddler. ;)