Saturday, January 30, 2010

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

i'm just gonna say here that this isn't TOO trustworthy because holly only got 16% "like me" and i can say with 100% CERTAINTY that looking at my baby pictures freaks me out because they look so much like her..

but, it was fun to do anyway.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

its like he knew...

it is like he knew that he would have a little girl that looked just like this.  or, maybe she knew he's give her a cousin that looked just like her. except with less and lighter hair.  i think faith is about 2 years old here.


how sweet is it to come across photos like this. just makes my night. 


and, it amazes me how much holly and faith look alike!  at least i know how cute holly will grow up to be!  i hope holly is also as sweet...

units please!




when i was in college, dr. spruill (my hydrology and petrology professor) used to harp on us constantly about including units.  even when the units cancelled... like a hydraulic gradient of 0.1 ft/ft (if you were in his class and taking his test, we had to include the ft/ft or we got it wrong).

well, the folks at NOAA needed to take a class by him.  i was just reading their forecast for 27549 zip code and i was left with questions:

Friday: A slight chance of rain and snow after 3pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 40. Northeast wind between 5 and 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Friday Night: A slight chance of rain and snow before 7pm, then snow. Low around 26. Northeast wind between 7 and 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Saturday: Snow and sleet, becoming all snow after noon. High near 28. Northeast wind around 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.


half of an inch of what?  snow?  rain?  i realize they did include the units (inches), but inches of what?  chickens?  (that is what dr. spruill would have said... "chickens?")

an inch of rain is not the same as an inch of snow.

if i'm not mistaken, the rule/ratio for liquid to frozen is 1:10  (meaning 1 inch of liquid is the same as 10 inches of frozen).  so, if they were saying precipitation amounts of "liquid" or melted measurements, then, that means we should get 7.5 to 12.5 inches of snow (total).

which brings me to another question... if "they" say, for example, "rain then snow" and "precipation amount is 1 inch", do they mean 1 inch of rain or snow?  do they use different gauges for the rain and THEN measure the snow differently?  like, if it rains 1/2 inch and then it snows 5 inches, wouldn't that be the same as 1 inch of precipation (liquid)?

DOES ANYONE UNDERSTAND ME?????

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

suduko crunchings

i did my first medium suduko tonight with only minimal help from nathaniel.  the times he helped (twice?), it was things i should have seen anyway.  so much so that i really consider myself doing it. 

two weeks ago i almost finished a hard one.  i got distracted with the kids playing and the tv blaring and conversations, etc.  i needed silence and a pencil with an eraser.

practice makes perfect.  i WILL get better.  i WILL do a hard one one day.  that is my goal.

i remember when the easy ones were hard!

yay me.

walker, holly walker.

in case you missed it on facebook, here is the video of holly walking.

and, yes, she is whiney.  she was mad i wouldn't let her have the camera.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

"savor the now"

my favorite candy is the dove chocolates with the caramel in the middle.  back when i worked in washington, my friend harry got me hooked on the dove chocolates.  when they came out with the ones with caramel in the middle, well - lets just say it is a diet breaker.  i can't stop eating them.




anyway, the dove chocolates have a little inspiration quote in the wrapper.  this morning, the one i opened said "savor the now" and it made me think of what happened last night at bedtime.  in order to emphasize the significance of it, i need to tell a story about someone else first.

{*i love you*}

i actually don't remember exactly WHEN this happened, i just remember how excited my friend, emily, was when her son told her that he loved her for the first time.  i remember that we were at her house and she said to me "gabe told me he loved me today in the car!"  i remember that she was beaming with motherly pride and i couldn't wait to share it with her - since like most other mothers, it is probably the most-said statement in our house.   gabe is 9 months older than kendal so i often use his milestones to know what is in store for kendal and me in the upcoming months.  like, when gabe sang his first song.  and, when gabe moved up to his big boy bed, and when gabe went all day using the potty - i can't wait to share that excitement with emily too!

my "savor the now" moment:
last night i was putting holly to bed, and the way bedtime goes in our house is we all kiss her goodnight and then nathaniel or i put her in her crib.  kendal kissed her first, then nathaniel, and as i was rounding our bed to take her to her room kendal exclaimed "i love you!" to her.  how sweet is that?  he hasn't told me that he loves me yet (without prompting) but he told her last night. it just melted my heart.  i know he loves her, and it excited me to hear him say it.  i really think he knows what it means.

Monday, January 25, 2010

kids shows

we got a new wonderpets video in preparation for our trip to florida.

the kids do well in the car when it is light out, but once it is dark, they don't like riding.  it is that inbetween sleep time but too dark to see anything - you know what i mean?  they want to keep the light on in the back seat and it can be distracting.

anyway, now we have 3 wonderpets videos, 1 elmo video, and 1 wiggle video, oh, and 2 baby einstein videos.  obviously they won't watch them straight, but, at least we won't have to listen to any repeats!  ;)

kendal loves the wiggles, by the way.  they are usually on when he wakes up - before holly wakes up, and he can watch them until she gets up.  they keep him quiet.  they come on again at noon, and it is how we wind down for nap.  (plus i can wash the dishes). 

he asks for them at night but of coarse, they don't come on at night.  wonder pets does, but only at 8:30.  sometimes that is after his bedtime.

ok, that is my ramble for the night.  ramble ramble ramble.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

a time for drunken horses



 i watched this movie on LINK-TV a month or so ago, but this morning when i awoke from my all-night-nightmare (everytime i went back to sleep, i kept on dreaming it), they were interviewing the filmmaker (bahman ghobadi) of it and also discussing his other films.  turns out this is the first feature film in kurdish to achieve an international release - the kurdish language was banned in iranian schools since the 1940s.  one of his other films, half moon (2006) has been banned from iran altogether.  he also said that he has been unable to get any permits to make more films, he believed it was because he was kurdish.

this one is a must see for anyone who has netflix.  i put it up there with children of heaven and the sun also rises.  it is a work of art, for sure - and you will fall in love with the characters (who are based on real people...).  just as a warning, it will break your heart.  it isn't one of those movies that, once it is over, you have a warm feeling in your heart.  it leaves you tired and breathless, just like the people who live that life every day probably feel.




here is a synopsis for those of you who won't watch it unless you know what is going on:

Newcomer writer/director Bahman Ghobadi continues exploring the plight of children in his rugged country with A Time for Drunken Horses. The helmer delves into the darker side of childhood with his tale of Ayoub and his struggling, little family in the mountainous region of Kurdish Iran. Ayoub becomes the head of his family after they learn of the death of their smuggler father. On the heals of this shock comes word from the local doctor that Madi, Ayoub's ailing dwarf brother, will die without a crucial operation. Even with the surgery, little Madi may only live for 7 or 8 months. This matters not for the orphaned family and earning the money for the operation becomes the priority of them all. In the hard, desolate land of the border between Iran and Iraq, this is a near impossibility for the hard-pressed little boy. An arranged marriage for Ayoub's sister Rojin also fails to bring hope as her groom's mother reneges on the agreement to take care of Madi, too. Ayoub then faces his greatest challenge as he fights harsh conditions and the threat of ambush as he smuggles tires to earn the money for Madi. The film ends with this quest unfulfilled, but with an understanding of Ayoub and the rest.

Friday, January 22, 2010

kendal is confusing chris again!

chris, you are just EVERYWHERE in our house.  before you were the elf, now you are on TV.

have you ever seen the wiggles?  well the purple dude (jeff?) - kendal thinks that is you.  ha!



Thursday, January 21, 2010

pretend gas pumps

when i was little, both of my grandfathers owned and operated gas stations.  i grew up knowing about changing tires, pumping gas, and running a cash register.

i was just sitting on the floor playing with kendal and holly as they played with their fisher price garage.  they love to put the cars (or just the people) on the ramp and watch them spiral down.  i like the fact they play with it together. peacefully.





HOWEVER... i was noticing the gas pump and air pump on the front of the toy.  you know what?  my kids have NO idea what a gas pump is.  they are in the car when i get gas, but they never get out of their seat.  they haven't seen me open my gas tank, haven't seen me put in the gas nozzle, or actually pump gas.  they don't know what pumping gas sounds like, and they CERTAINLY don't know what putting air in the tires is!




thus, i'm not sure why that is a feature of the toy.  a gas pump?  what kid these days knows what that is.  unless you live on a farm and daddy (or granddaddy) has a pump for his tractors, a kid these days isn't likely gonna know what a gas pump is. 

how sad is that?  i'll have to make SURE kendal learns how to change a tire before he can drive a car.

morning fun with build-a-road!


as i mentioned yesterday on facebook, i got a used nilo table off of craigslist.  what a deal!  i was so excited i wanted to sleep on it.

this morning i put the legs on it and washed the surfaces... i put the mat "park side" up (the other side is white) and got out the buildaroad.  boy did the kids have fun. (and yes, they are still in PJs!)



 
needless to say, the favorite part of buildaroad is the "crash" when the two jeeps meet.



they both love that part.  :)


Wednesday, January 20, 2010

punch hangers

at stamp club, there was a question asked about storing punches:




my SAM uses the Bygel rails at IKEA to hang punches on the wall.  they are $1.99 for the short ones and $2.99 for the 39” ones.  you need to buy them directly FROM the store, though because the shipping to order it on line is like $20 or something.

so, who is going to IKEA next?  i need some!!!  ;)






random photos

just thought i'd post some pictures of the children.  camera has been MIA for a bit.

here is what you're gonna be seeing:  holly's faux-hawk (2), kendal in the tub after he colored his face with bath crayons, kendal in a towel, kitty, lacy, and holly's favorite sleeping spot.




Tuesday, January 19, 2010

deodorant

i went in a bathroom yesterday that reeked of perfumey deodorizer - and i had an epiphany.

what exactly is a "deodorant"?
looking at the word, shouldn't a de-odor-ant be something that DE-odorizes something?

well, the smell of the stuff in the bathroom definitely wasn't de-odorizing.  it was re-odorizing.




so, maybe the "deodorant" (like what we use on our armpits) should REALLY be called "reodorant."
this is why:
it takes our natural sweat,
stops it from coming out (the aluminum oxide antiperspirant technically makes it an un-odorant),
and then provides our armpits with a new smell that activates with our body heat (the re-odorant).

just saying.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

this month's stamp club valentine




this month we're making an easel card - so our lucky husbands (or boyfriends) can display it with the built in easel! 

i used the simply said stamp set as well as the holiday best level 1 hostess set.  it looks complicated but it isn't.  i made the whole thing AND cut all the paper for the girls in about an hour. (i was creating the card as i went...)

here is a closeup:



you can't really tell but the flowers are colored too.  i used the pastels for it!

i love all the color and, as usual, i varied from the traditional red and white and black valentine's day colors.  something about being normal and traditional and typical sends me screaming in the other direction!
hope you like it!  and i REALLY hope my girls like it!

(ps, emily, i used the white craft ink:  do you think it looks bad???)

FB vent

i think its funny when people join groups like "its a status not a diary" on facebook.
um, if you are on there then you must be interested.
and, you can block or unfriend.

really.
oh, and what about the guy who finally figured out what the colors were for and had to post the ARTICLE the said what the colors were for?  were we REALLY busted?  eh, not really.  we weren't doing it to advertise our bra color or to pull one over on you.  it was for breast cancer awareness, loser.  and, just like cancer, the word spread among women like wildfire.  just hope that all involved did a self-breast check that next morning in the shower!  i know i did!

(amy, i'm not talking about you or any of your 'friends' (or myself for that matter):)
to the girl who disagrees with everything you say - bite me.  you're an idiot.  just because you have to get rid of your dog doesn't mean that you are a bad person.  sometimes your wife and children have to come first.  and, dogs are NOT people.  no matter what you may think.  i'm willing to bet  you don't have any children (or nieces and nephews).  you clearly seem to think that dogs are human.  (insert world's most annoying noise - because that is the sound that reminds me of you)



seriously.

and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stop ending me mafia wars or zookeeper or whatever fish world invitations.  i'm not doing it.  never ever.  EVER.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

spaghetti: no forks allowed!

holly REALLY enjoyed eating dinner last night.  after a week (or two), she has finally gotten her appetite back.  i forgot just how much she eats. like today at lunch, she ate all her lunch and then finished what kendal didn't eat too. and, he doesn't have an appetite so he hadn't eaten much at all.  she's a little pig!  but, i always remind myself that she's a mover unlike kendal at her age!  ;)

Thursday, January 7, 2010

kendal + holly + [the saltines on yo gabba gabba] = a lot of fun to watch!

jan. 2010: big changes in our house!

just an update to what has happened in our house as the new year dawned upon us!

kendal is has officially had a night in his big boy bed - he's had naps in it, but last night he slept in it for the night.  he stayed in it all night and got up at 7am.  right on time!



i don't have any pictures of him in the bed yet - but, this is what it looks like.  it is a hand-me-down from gabe - who moved up to a BIG BIG boy bed for his 3rd birthday on jan 1st!  where has the time gone???  (thanks emily for the bed!)

holly is officially off the bottle.  she won't even entertain the idea.  i wasn't ready for this.  i don't even remember her last one.  (and, we still have some formula left!)

kendal can climb on anything now.  its not unusual to find him sitting on top of something eating his breakfast out of holly's reach (like the center of the ottoman).  he is a climbing machine.

speaking of climbing machines,  holly can beat him up the stairs.  she is a stairmaster.  she has also gained the new nickname of godzilla because of the way she destroys everything such as the train track, etc.  if it is put together, she will surely pull it apart.



speaking of pulling things apart, last night at 3am when i was wide awake, i decided to use the time wisely and i FINALLY got my (and the kids') thank you cards finished.  beside my bed was a neat stack of address envelopes (no stamps).  while getting breakfast this morning, kendal saw them and decided that those envelopes needed opening.  so, now i just have to address new envelopes...

and, holly officially has a mullet.  good thing though that she has what appears to be a thick undergrowth coming out now.  hopefully she'll end up with long, luxurious locks like her brother.  (though, his could never be long. he's about 1 month past due on a haircut.  he has crazy hair every day now!)

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

new years un-resolutions



i'm taking a different approach this year.
this year i'm not making any 'real' resolutions.  i'm making up my own kind of resolutions, and i'm calling them un-resolutions.

here is my list:
1. loose some weight.  first, though, i will gain some by finishing all the candy left over from christmas.  that way, i can just loose what i gain by eating all the candy and break even in then end.

2. accept chaos in my house.  this unresolution includes not doing a massive clean up before anyone comes over.  i have kids.  they have toys.  my kids are too little to put things up, thus leaving my floor scattered in trip hazards.  if you don't want to see it (or step over it), then invite us to your house.

3. not kick myself for not writing thank you notes, especially since i can't do it because the kids won't stay out of my lap (it is hard to write with one hand - plus kendal thinks HE should be writing if he sees paper and pen...).  cindy wrote to me today "Love that and forget the thank you notes. I don't know anyone who would want to rob your lap from a babe to get a thank you note!!!!"  point taken.  if they get done, then they get done.  if not, everyone - THANK YOU. (and officially, unless i completely forgot sometime in the past, this will the the FIRST time i've not written thank you notes at all or in a timely fashion.)

4.  wrinkled clothes wear just as good as pressed ones.  i will accept that.  and, pjs function just as well during the day as they do at night.  who am i kidding, i'm not going anywhere!  who am i "dressing up" for?

5.  my hair does not have to be highlighted (though i do prefer at least some color!) - maybe this year i can start accepting my gray.  hum.  maybe not.


6.  find a job.  or, figure out how to save $500 a week so i can stay home and not need unemployment.  anyone want to buy a car?  i really like raising my children.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

soapy problem


just in case you ever spill 1/3 a bottle of dishwashing liquid on your kitchen rug, when you put in the washer, expect the suds to rise.

i learned tonight that anti-gas drops (well, a half a bottle of it) added to the load will tame that foam!

just saying...

special christmas gifts

oh let me just be a little sentimental for a moment.  and i mean just a moment because those of you who know me know how un-sentimental i am.

we had such a great christmas this year.  we got to see most of our families which is so special to me.  the only part we didn't get to see was my dad's side - but, we just couldn't get there in time on christmas morning AND make it to nathaniel's parents in the afternoon.  just to much on top of santa.  next year we may have to do something different altogether. i'd really like so spend my christmas day at home.









we got (and gave) lots of great gifts.  thanks to melissa, i discovered a new wine i like (and don't get a headache from - assuming i don't drink too much of it of coarse!)  kendal and holly were spoiled rotten by santa and their grandparents and their aunts and uncles.  i love the way christmas has become about children.  and, not just my children, but ALL the children i know.  i loved watching sophie and jacqueline and alina and sam and josh and grace and faith all open gifts just as much as i enjoy my own children open gifts.  i LOVE that they all got lots of things - we (i) are so lucky to have family to spoil our children like that.  financially we had a disaster of a year!  but, we ended it with a plethora of imagination toys for them to enjoy for the next year!  (yes, some of them are in the attic for later!)






ok, so to my point here.  i want to start a blog series and discuss some of the coolest things we "got" for christmas.  i.e., what my kids have really started playing with.  (keep in mind that a lot of stuff is in the attic so they aren't exposed to all of it right now...)

first, i wanted to stick with my sentimental theme and show you one of the most special gifts we got this year.  and i know the person who gave it to us is probally going to roll his eyes, but, it REALLY is a special gift.  it is something we will ALWAYS keep and treasure.  (it is the coin from rob's last FOB.) 



of coarse even more special than the coin was getting to share part of the holiday with rob. he is such a wonderful person.  i am so grateful that he made it home safe and hope and pray that he continues to be as fortunate, careful, and skilled in his job as he returns to the dangerous and rugged war zone in afghanistan in the next couple of weeks.  when he was at mom's house, he shared pictures he took during his moving convoy across central afghanistan - they were ghostly and amazing all at the same time.  many looked to me like what the wild west would have looked like had their been digital cameras back in the 1800s.  the geography appeared dry. desert. cold. windy. dusty. poor. sparse. dangerous. rugged. harsh.

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