Build a bears by Jackie

How WE love build a bears. you ASk how mAnY wE hAvE?

From freespiritknits.blogspot.com:

making space for what matters most


You know you have a clutter issue when you are blogging about clutter. This image is actually also my first attempt to add a button to my sidebar - it worked!

Are you drowning in paper/stuff/toys/paper/paper/paper like our family? No? It's just me? Okay, well, my name is Kari and I have a clutter/organization issue. It has contributed to the CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) of our house for too long (credit FlyLady for that acronym - yes, it's sad I know about FlyLady). Anyway, I'm challenging myself to reduce the clutter in my house so I can create space for what matters most. I will gather one bag a night to put in the car for Goodwill (have you seen my basement? No, of course not, and this is why!) If I do not do that, I will pick one drawer, one stack, one cupboard (you get the point) a night. If I ever get to the point that I've tackled every pile, corner, nook and cranny, then I will start over.

Here's Day 1 of the COAT challenge (Come Over Any Time):

Scrub scrub scrubbed my stove. Is that clutter? Don't know, but the kicker was when my sister (Hi Megs) thought I had dark burners. Nope, they're light grey, just like yours. Ew, I know. Anyway, they're light grey again and wow are they pretty. Looks so much better, and then I moved onto the microwave. I would have taken a picture of my stove to post here but then you'd think man does she have too much time on her hands.

You not touch my band-aid

Many tears from the little one today.

She got her second boosters of both the H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines.  Many, many tears and concerns about people touching her band-aid.

Didn't want Dave to dress her for school after because she thought he might take off the band-aid. 

Didn't want to take a bath tonight because she thought I might take off her band-aid, or that the band-aid might inadvertently fall off in the water. 

The whole time I was washing her it was, "Don't get soap on my band-aid", "You not touch my band-aid", "You not get water on my band-aid" to which I responded, "I won't get soap on your band-aid", "I'm not touching your band-aid", "I'm not even looking at your band-aid", "What band-aid? Do you have a band-aid?"

Oy.


[Dora, enjoying Grandma-made mattress and quilt]

At least some of us are sleeping well tonight.

the very very quick post

In the mad dash that is our weekday mornings around here, I am blogging. 

Does that make sense to you?

I am very excited because I actually am taking steps to enter the digital era and purchased a small flash drive (?) so i can download my pictures to that which means I am not worried about taking up memory (?) on the computer anymore which means I can actually take and share the cute pictures that I've taken and get back to recording some of the goings on here which was the whole purpose for this blog. (massive run-on sentence but am in hurry)  I did set the timer for 5 minutes so this will be a very quick post.

 Woops, there's the timer.  Am I that slow? Okay, I am giving myself just one more minute which means I will stop writing inane things so I can post a couple really cute pictures (which I did and they are on top rather than below.. still figuring this thing out).

I will leave you with Katie's first joke ever that she told Brian yesterday:

Kate: Knock-knock.
Brian: Who's there?
Kate: Banana.
Brian: Banana who?
Kate: Wot?? I can't hear you....I've got finger in my ear!!!

Apparently, she learned this from Dora the Explorer. Who knew my kid was a comedian.

Well, actually...I think we all know she's a comedian.

Have to run.  Hope everyone has a great week.

Halloween

Here are pictures from Halloween. Jackie was a sorceress.  Her costume came with a matching pointy hat but it kept falling off.  So, instead, we made a headband and a couple matching rings for her fingers (which you can't see) from remnants of the hem we cut off the bottom of her dress.  She looked beautiful.  I love the way Jackie is hugging Kate in this picture.

To the girls' left you can see the trick-or-treat bags Jackie and Grandma made.  The bags were really cute.  Katie's was a miniature of Jackie's and it was the perfect size for her (no complaints from the little one about the 'discrepancy' in size between the two!)

Kate was an angel.  The top picture was from her daycare's Halloween party.  If you look hard, you can see her wings.  She was in heaven wearing the costume and had an all around blast this year.

I need to include a couple more pictures from Halloween this year.  I have a couple funny ones of Kate sampling (and sampling and sampling and sampling) the 'Owl-oween' cupcakes Grandma and Jackie made.

I also need to include a picture of the Halloween Tree Grandma and Jackie painted (complete with spooky ornaments).  I think this tree will become a tradition to put out every year now.  We are really lucky to have such a cool and creative Grandma.  I will post those pictures in the next day or two.

Great fun was had by all this year.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie...

Boy, what a face!

This picture was taken after the South Bend Civic Theater's adaptation of Laura Numeroff's book (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie).    Kate had such a great time and so wanted to see the mouse after the play (played by a local high school student) so we waited in line.  Just like pictures with Santa, it was all excited anticipation until it was our turn to meet her.  Then it was like Kate couldn't escape over Dave's shoulder fast enough. I hope the expression on Kate's face comes through - it was a bit dark in the halls of the theater.   I think you can double click on the picture to enlarge it. It was hysterical!!

We brought the book with us so Kate could make the connection with the play. The book has been read so many times (SOOOOOO many times) at our house (along with If You Give a Pig a Pancake) and I think that made this play extra fun for both girls.  Mom and Dad, thanks so much for the fun family night.  I know you both would have loved to take the girls yourselves and would have gotten a tickle out of it.  Hope the post knee surgery recovery is still going well, that the PC converts are becoming more agreeable students, and that any and all colds, eye infections, residual jet lag, etc, are going by the wayside.

Also, I can't not include this next picture.  One day Jackie decided to make me lunch using an idea from one of her kids cookbooks:


See? It's a car sandwich. A  half a roll for the body of the car, cucumber and pepperoni for the wheels (held together by toothpicks), a half cucumber for the windshield and a strawberry on top for added flair.

Fun and tasty!

Erin Go Bragh

Tomorrow, loved ones will be headed to Ireland for a week! In their honor, here is a classic Irish song. I came across these lyrics on The Information about Ireland site. I've linked this website to the title of this post if you want to hear the music as well. Have a wonderful, wonderful time. Do try to come back with a Irish brogue. :0)

An Irish Lyllaby

Over in Killarney
Many years ago,
Me Mither sang a song to me
In tones so sweet and low.
Just a simple little ditty,
In her good ould Irish way,
And l'd give the world if she could sing
That song to me this day.

Chorus:
"Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, hush now, don't you cry!
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, that's an Irish lullaby."

Oft in dreams I wander
To that cot again,
I feel her arms a-huggin' me
As when she held me then.
And I hear her voice a -hummin'
To me as in days of yore,
When she used to rock me fast asleep
Outside the cabin door.