Friday, October 31, 2008

Things I have come to understand, learn or remember this week...

1. Taffeta melts very, very easily. This I learned when I first started Macy's Christmas dress and I went to press the first seem. Not a big deal, I had just started the dress. It was more of a problem when I went to press the seem for the zipper (yes, one of the finishing touches) on what I thought was the delicate setting on the iron. I was wrong and my nearly completed dress now has a hole in the bodice. At least it was way to big for Macy anyway so I will just redo the bodice and reattach everything to it. Oh well, lesson learned.
2. Butter cream frosting is a gift from God. Canned frosting is some horrible imitation that the devil came up with. I mean, really. Who would settle for that canned junk when homemade butter cream is so easy to make and is also heaven on a cookie, cupcake, spoon, finger, or whatever. Macy learned this as well when she got to decorate her Halloween Cookies yesterday.
3. On a similar note, three sugar cookies with frosting do not a dinner make. It does however result in a slightly ill tummy and a sugar rush induced headache for the rest of the evening. This is a mistake I hope to not repeat again in the near future. At least not until Christmas cookie time.
4. Two toddlers+ one mother's lap+ library full of books= two screaming children fighting over the one available lap and mother to read books that they do not want to share with the other toddler and glares from the parents who a reading to their one well behaved toddler.
5. While a child sized broom may seem like a good toy for toddlers so they can imitate Mom sweeping and help clean without hitting everything with the big people broom, it isn't. The little cleaning instrument becomes a club for one little girl to beat the other little girl with. That's a mistake I won't be repeating.
6. When a package arrives via UPS at 7:30 at night and I tell Macy it is something from Grandma Brenda, she immediately starts asking for the toy that she is certain is inside. When we open it and it is two matching blankets for the girls with their names embroidered in each one (thanks Breanda and Margo) Macy will also insist I take a picture.
7. Have their names embroidered on the blankets, however, does not keep Macy from trying to convince me that she should sleep with both blankets that night.
8. Teenage fashion (or lack thereof) is horrible. I am reminded of this every time I sub at high school. Let me enlighten you as to how the majority of next generation dresses:
A. Boys wear jeans that are way too tight. Not like hot Wrangler cowboy butt but skinny boys whose jeans are tight all of the way down to their ankles. Shudder...
B. Girls also wears these way too tight jeans. There are some girls that actually look good in these. And buy some, I mean little 14 year old prepubescent girls with no hips or body fat. Most other girls have a muffin top hanging out and it is not cute. Why they can't buy flattering pants, I do not understand.
C. Boys and girls wear ratty, nasty looking skater sneaker looking shoes. They look as if they were trampled on by a heard of cattle and that they smell that way too.
D. Both genders style their hair in the super messy frazzled look. Some get out of bed and don't touch it again. Others get out of bed, decide it looks descent and then mess it up to fix it.
E. It is not uncommon to see these adolescents wearing sweatpants, pajama pants, workout pants and scrubby T-shirts to school. Who taught these kids how to dress? When did it become appropriate to where these things in public when a person is not going to the gym or being checked into the hospital?

There are exceptions but those who seem to take pride in their appearance and dress with any style or to make any effort and trying to look like presentable, fashionable young adults are far and few between. Apparently it is "cooler" to fight the norm and try to be an individual by dressing like a scrub like no one -everyone else. I love teenagers, really, but come on kids. Maybe it is just the schools I sub at but it seems to be an epidemic.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Cinnamon Rolls


I had to take pictures because the girls were being so cute at breakfast. Last night Justin came home and said that he had been craving cinnamon rolls. The hopeful look in his eyes clued me in that he hoped I would make some. I was thrilled to indulge him because he usually isn't usually that into sweets, but I don't think he realized that it would several hours for them to be finished. We ate ours at 10 last night and then the girls got a special treat for breakfast in the morning.

I love this one. Kylie says "Please Mom, can I have some more?"

Halloween Town

Every year they have a thing called Halloween town in a big warehouse in midtown Anchorage. They have numerous booths where kids can go trick or treating indoors (without their full winter gear) and then there is entertainment, jump houses, food and other booths with things to look at. We had planned on going to an activity in the park but the 20 degree temperature scared me off so we forked over the money to buy some tickets to Halloween town and I am glad we did. The girls looked adorable in their costumes and Justin and I have been snacking out of their trick or treat bags ever since (this is also now Macy's potty reward supply). It wasn't ideal for our little ones because they had to walk in a line most of the time to go to each booth and toddlers have the tendency to want to run, unrestrained, but it still went well and was enjoyable.
Here are the girls checking out the big spider.

Daddy and Miss Mary.
Mommy and the Little Lamb.

Macy was so excited about this "polar bear"... until he picked her up- then she was terrified.

It was a fun day. We have trunk or treating at the church of Friday but it will be cold so the costumes won't be quite as exciting when they are in coats and hats.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Dear Santa...


Today I learned about the coolest little gadget EVER. Seriously, I am thinking about selling my plasma so I can get one. I decided to turn on Oprah today and she was introducing her favorite toy. I am now in love with it as well because it is the perfect thing for me and all you out there who love to read. It is called a Kindle and it is awesome.
It's an electronic book where you can download up to 200 books (400 more if you buy a card) and it stores them all in one little computer for you. This is prefect since I don't want to buy books because I have no where to store them and I don't want to pay to move them when we leave the Great North. If you are reading and don't know the meaning of a word, you simply push a button and the definition pops up before your eyes. Want to look something up on wikipedia? You can do that from your Kindle as well. You can download your desired book right from the Kindle without having to use your computer and it is there less than a minute later. Plus, since the books aren't printed on paper, they are much cheaper than if you were to buy a copy in the store (all less than 10 bucks a book!). There is no monthly wireless charge, its all included. Thanks to Oprah, if you go to Amazon.com in the next 7 days and put in the coupon code "oprahwinfrey" you can save $50! I am totally excited except...
The full price is $359 ($309 with the discount) :(

So, Santa, please help me out here. I don't think my husband is going to spring for one of these for me since he already got me a kitchen aid (thanks again Dearest Love). I could sub three days straight and that would pay for it except I am currently saving for a romantic get away with my hot hubby.
Until then, I will dream of the joy that this great item would bring. :)


I know I am dreaming, maybe someday I will buy this so I can be cool like Oprah. But for any of you people out there who have cash to burn and you love to read, you really should get this!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Tutu's

I had been wanting to make the girls some cute tutu's to play in since they love to spin and dance around the house. Tuesday we had a little play date at my friend Kara's house with her three little ones and we needed a good activity to do. They were pretty easy and are super cute. I finished Kylie's up this morning and I think my girls are adorable in them although next time I would definately do a darker pink for Macy's. The light pink blended in with the yellow and white too much.
I obviously had to do a photo shoot with them this morning. Macy kept telling me she was a "cute princess" and she would not stop dancing and twirling once she had it on.

Night-Night

Apparently nearly 2 hours of nursery completely wore out Macy on Sunday. We got home from church and within a few minutes of laying down on the couch she and I had passed out. Kylie was content to drink her milk and watch the movie. I woke up when Justin got home and he snapped some pics:

I then had to get up to change Kylie and make dinner. Justin happily took my spot (I was so robbed) and he happily hung out with Macy for the next 45 minutes.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Halloween Craft Day

Justin left town yesterday to work in Fairbanks and Kenai for a couple of days so I prepared a few Halloween crafts for Macy and I to do while he was gone.
We painted mini pumpkins...This was Macy's first experience with paint and she loved it. Every time she went to clean her brush in the water she would recite "Rinse it and Dry it" and then dab it on the paper towel. She literal said it each time, I thought it was pretty cute. They are now being displayed in the place of honor on our mantel.We also made jack o lantern faces out of felt. Apparently, Macy is going through her abstract, Picasso period.

And my crowning achievement is this Halloween Banner. I had seen these a few places and thought they were adorable. It didn't take too long to make and now it is filling the empty space on the wall above our dining table. There are a few ways to make these but I made mine two sided in case I ever want to hang it somewhere where the back can be seen. I just did one fabric for all of the backs and I think that side is just as cute, if not more. I also managed to buy about three times more material than I needed so now I have about 50 extra triangles sitting in my sewing box. Any suggestions on what to do with them? I guess I could always make a new banner. I got the fabric dirt cheap too because all of the Halloween fabric at JoAnn's is 50-60% off and I get a 15% teacher's discount because I sub for the Anchorage school system. Good deal, eh?

I'm not sure what we will do today, maybe make some Halloween cupcakes. Anyone want to come over and play?

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Super Scary No More


Today was good. It was very very good because I was finally able to get my hair done by someone in Anchorage without it costing me my first born child (although I may have been willing to make that deal after the way she has been today). There is a lady in my ward who does hair out of her house for pretty dang cheap so we scheduled an appointment for a day when we actually knew that Justin wouldn't have to work (as opposed to the usual finding out the night before). I think she did a great job and the price was definately right. I am relieved to finally feel like a human being again and not some shaggy haired mutt. (ok, maybe its not the best picture, but at least you get the idea)

Oh, and notice how Macy is admiring my new hoodie. Yes I have sunk to a new low, I actually bought clothes at Walmart- but hey, it was nine bucks, and looked decent. Who cares if it falls apart after 5 washes, right?

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Daddy, Mommy, Macy Date


Thanks to Debi who hooked us up with vouchers for free tickets, Justin and I took Macy to a family chorus show last night called Young at Heart. We left Kylie asleep in her bed with Randy and Debi to watch her and took our two year old to her first real show. She loved that she got to get dressed up and go out with Mommy and Daddy. I thought it was funny that she immediately grasped the concept of "a special date" because she was excited about it all night. She bounced with excitement when the lights went down in the big theater and everyone started applauding. Any time it was time to clap she would beam and clap as loud as she could. She obviously didn't know almost any of the songs the choir sang or the orchestra performed but she sang along anyway. (Fortunately, there were a lot of kids there so her noise didn't stand out too much) The first half of the show was a little boring and she was very antsy. We were sitted in the orchestra section next to the wall by the door so she kept sneaking out and laying in the aisle to watch. She was so tired but so interested in what was going on. After intermission things improved drastically. The Little Mermaid came down in a swing from up in the rafters and sang "Part of Your World." Macy's smile and excitement at seeing "My Mermaid" come down from the sky and sing was worth every tantrum she had thrown that day. She was very sad when the mermaid left and she regularly asked, through the rest of the show where her mermaid went. The orchestra also played some Star Wars songs and they had some characters come out and play- I mean "fight"- with their light saber things. Macy thought those were pretty neat too.
When we left the woman who played the Little Mermaid was standing in the lobby, right next to our exit. I don't think I will ever forgive myself for not having a camera then. Macy was so excited to get to see her up close and she could hardly contain herself.

Earlier in the evening Randy and Debi were over and hanging out. Randy made some great whipped topping to go over strawberry short cake. A week or so ago I had discovered online how to make butter in my mixer and I have been itching to try it ever since. Justin informed me that most people make butter in a jar in elementary school- apparently I missed out because I thought this was about the coolest concept in history. Anyway, we made the butter with the left over whipping cream and it was really good on my homemeade bread.
So yesterday was a fun day!

Friday, October 10, 2008

Sneak Peak


I know I should wait for Halloween to reveal Macy's costume so she can be presented in all of her made-up glory but I am just too proud of myself to wait. I finally got my sewing machine back from the repair shop today so I finished off the costume. She will be able to wear the dress to church afterwords and the pinafore will be cute for dress up clothes. I am pretty pleased with my imperfect but first dress making attempt. Macy loves to spin around and show off how cute she is to anyone who will admire her. I had a very difficult time getting a decent picture because I couldn't get her to stop jumping and twirling.

And our other big news:
Yesterday we went to Target. Yes, Target. Not such a big deal to you southerners but I have very anxiously been awaiting the store's Alaska entrance since we moved here and I didn't believe the day would come. The Grand Opening is actually Sunday but we learned that they had opened a few days early so we went over last night and discovered that half of Anchorage knew of the same early opening secret. It was crowded and crazy but worth the fight- which is saying a lot because those who know me well know I hate fighting through crowds. We got some food, socks for the girls and a winter had for me. I was very pleased with our excursion and I can't wait to go back. I just wish it wasn't all of the way across town.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

How was your day?


This is what I saw out my window when I woke up yesterday. Enjoy your fall people, mine is over.And here are some fun things you should know about the little chicas:

Apparently 13 month olds know how to pretend. I didn't think they were capable of this until a little older but Kylie has proven me wrong. This morning in the bath tub she would pretend to take food out of a cup and then feed it to Macy, me, Justin and herself. Every time she did it with "Yum yum" and lip smacking noises. I was pretty impressed. Unfortunately, she has also learned to pretend to cry when she isn't getting her way.

Last night and this morning Macy has been walking around with her dolls saying "Look Mommy, look Daddy. Her name is Baby." I guess she somewhat has the idea of naming things now.

Tagged Again

Lynn Lee (hee hee) tagged me so here it goes.

8 favorite TV shows
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. The Office
3. Desperate Housewives
4. House
5. The Unit
6. Criminal Minds
7. Lost
8. Eli Stone (It's awesome, people. Check it out.)

8 Favorite Restraunts
1. Tepanyaki
2. Olive Garden
3. Double Muskey
4. Chillis
5. Simon and Seaforts
6. Pizza Factory
7. Mimi's Cafe
8. Wingers ( I love sticky fingers)

8 things that happened yesterday
1. I went to the gym
2. Bought fabric to make presents with
3. Made Apple Muffins
4. Made play dough with Macy
5. Fell asleep while watching Empire of the Sun with Justin
6. Made and ate delicious Yak Soba
7. Watched the Presidential Debate
8. Cuddles with both girls a lot.

8 things to look forward to
1. Getting my sewing machine back from the repair shop
2. Our trip to Outside in December
3. Getting a PFD next year
4. The Office on Thursday
5. Our trip with Wade and Melissa in January- No Kids Invited!
6. The end of the terrible two's (only to begin Kylie's turn)
7. Halloween and the girls cute costumes
8. Making yummy food for Thanksgiving and Christmas

8 things I love about fall
1. The leaves changing
2. Drinking hot chocolate with whipped cream
3. Warm clothes
4. Fall TV show premiers
5. Subbing at schools
6. Yummy fall foods
7. It finally getting dark again at night (I won't be so happy about this in a few weeks when it is always dark again)
8. Getting to do indoor projects again

8 things on my wishlist
1. Buy a house again
2. Get more in shape so it is not so embarrassing when I go on hikes and want to pass out
3. Be more patient, especially with Macy
4. Get my hair done
5.Make good friends up here so I am not so bored all winter
6. Go fishing and camping with the girls next summer
7. Find really cute winter/Alaska practical shoes. Do these exist?
8. Get better at sewing

8 people I am tagging
1. Courtney
2. Chrsity
3. Ashley Dudley
4. Ashley Hull
5. Brittany
6. Jayna
7. Amanda
8. Rebecca

Monday, October 6, 2008

The Girls

Here are some updates on the Little Ones:

Kylie:
-13 months and still no teeth....
-She practically runs everywhere she goes now.

-She has also become quite adept at beating up/ defending herself against her sister. Poor Macy doesn't seem to know what's hit her. Lately I spend most of my time, kissing ouies better, breaking up fights over toys and giving timeouts to the kids for hitting each other. Seriously, where did they learn this?
-Yesterday Kylie walked up to me signing "Potty." I picked her up and she had just wet her diaper. I thought that was pretty cool.
-The last few times I have laid her down to change dirty diapers she proudly yells "EWWWW!"
- She thinks she is a comedian. She laughs at
herself constantly and loves attention for being silly.
-Last night she got her first pig tales. This is them this morning after baths. The two were awfully cute but it was nearly impossible to get them to both look at me and smile at the same time.


Macy Jo:
-Saturday during conference (which I was watching on our laptop) she ran up to me when she heard the kids singing "I am a Child of God" and yelled, "Mom! Kids singing my song!" When I started singing along she corrected me, "No Mom. Kids do it." She then sang along and was so excited to watch it. Then when the man started to pray she thought he was helping her to do and she folded her arms and repeated everything he said. It was pretty cute.
-I may have to start buying 2 of everything because I am sick of them fighting over EVERY THING. If one wants the rocking chair, the other does. Same with the car, baby (although we have 7), stroller (we have 2 but they are different), certain stuffed animals, etc.
-Grandma and Grandpa Smith took us to Chuck E. Cheese before they left Wednesday. She thought it was about the coolest place ever. Justin had to get his parents to the airport so I stayed with Macy to finish using our tokens. She had a blast playing ski ball, throwing footballs, riding little rides but, most importantly, getting tickets. There are several machines that randomly spit tickets out and we would get excited when we would find these and Macy would run up to get them. We only had one minor incident when she ran up and took some kid's huge string of tickets. She has since asked me several times to go to Chuck E. Cheese.
- Thanks to Grandma, Macy now thinks that restaurants equate milk shakes. While Justin was out of town I took them to McDonalds to run around the play place. When I told Macy we were going to the restaurant she immediately asked for a "Shake Milk." She got chocolate milk and didn't know the difference.


Me:
I know I am not as exciting as the kids but I am very proud of myself because I made homemade whole wheat bread the other day and we have been using it all week for sandwiches and just as our regular bread. I feel very accomplished at having achieved this task. The recipe was very simple and just tasted ok but I got my friend Lizzie's recipe and her bread is amazing. I can't wait to try it out!

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Live traffic feed

Ok, so this live traffic feed thing I put on the bottom is creepy. I can pretty much tell who has been looking at my blog and when. I obviously can't tell everyone but I know that Christy, Brittany, Amanda and Melissa have all read my last post in the last little bit. I mean, I know people are reading the posts (thanks to comments and counter) but it is still a whole other feeling to know who is doing it and when. It is even weirder that some person found my blog on google by searching potty training.
Maybe I should become private?
And if Lisa (my cousin's wife) sees this, add me to your list! I want to read your blog!

Anyway, just my random thoughts on now being able to stalk those who are stalking me. It is an obsessive cycle that is very addicting (and redundant).

Macy can get her sister to do anything

I was in the other room last night when I heard Macy command: "Kylie! Give Macy a ride!"
I walked in to find this going on.
At least they were playing nice, right?

Thursday, October 2, 2008

6 "Remarkable" things about me

Taryn tagged me a while back and I am just now doing it. I guess I am supposed to put six things about me so here we go:

1. I have always been very ambitious and have wanted to do it all. Ask my parents, I regularly changed my lofty goals of what I wanted to be when I grow up. I still want to be all of them but I now recognize that I get to be the most important, a mom. I am still planning to go to grad school when my kids are a little older but I am not yet positive what degree to get. Some things I have wanted and would still love to "be" are:
A doctor, run a PR firm, a cosmetologist, a lawyer, a teacher (I guess I am a sub now) a therapist, a movie director, a psychologist, an FBI profiler (my number one choice), an archaeologist, a photographer, an actress, a state legislature member (still hope to do that), work in hospital administration, a pastry chef and many more.

2. I really want to be great at cooking, baking, sewing and other crafty things before my kids are old enough to know the difference. I figure I have 10 years to get to be really good. I have never felt "talented" at anything but these are abilities I hope to cultivate.

3. Life was not fun after Kylie was born. Justin left for training for three weeks, we were leaving for Alaska and I was having to pack and I was stressed, tired, and trying to recover. I fully credit "The Office" for maintaining my sanity. I watched seasons one and two every night and they helped me to laugh when I wanted to cry. I am now a very loyal follower. Go Pam and Jim!

4. I love to get free things off of craigslist and freecycle. I have blogged about it several times but here is a list of some items I have scored:
A gas grill, a play kitchen, clothes and shoes for the girls, a sit and spin, several toys, mixing bowls, baskets, 8 or so cook books, fish smokers, a freezer, a bicycle, firewood and more.

5. I like dogs but I don't like to touch them. I think they are fun to watch and play with and I would love for my kids to have an outdoor dog but I rarely touch them by choice. Justin and I had his dog, Akela (a ginormous wolf hybrid) that lived with us until we moved to Alaska and I rarely touched him unless I had to. I always promptly washed my hands after even though I really liked him.

6. I love food. Not just like normal average like of food but I truly have a love relationship with food. I get giddy and excited and the idea of a great desert. I could eat out at great restaurants every day and die happy. I love to cook because I feel so proud of myself when something is delicious and I know I created something great. If I know I will be going to one of my favorite places to eat in a few days, I think about it almost constantly until I get to have it. Yeah, I am crazy head over heels in love with really good food.


Ok, I tag Ashley Dudley, Rebecca, Leslie, Christy and Courtney.

Fall Fun

Tonight Macy helped Justin rake leaves and she loved it and loved jumping in the piles. Kylie thought it was pretty great too!













And yes, it is cold and full out fall here. Our front tree is almost totally naked now and the others are shedding their leaves fast. We actually have snow showers forecast for this weekend which makes it great for Justin to chose this tonight to leave to go fishing in Boise. Anyway, the girls and I will find plenty to do and have fun with while he is gone! Anyone want to come play with us?