Trick Or Treat 2009

Just a few pics from this year's festivities.
The Blue Man
The Butterfly
"50 Cent"
The Hot Dog
Gasp! Everyone looking at the camera!

Poor Little Man

Sometime in the middle of the night between Thurday and Friday (I'm a little fuzzy on the time; I don't function well when woken from a deep sleep), Ian came down and told us he was "hungry" except it wasn't hunger he was feeling but a severely upset stomach. Needless to say, the past few days have been anything but pleasant in our house. Ian has been a real trooper but this bug has just wiped him out. He was actually looking a little better last night and was excited about returning to school today.

Well, his hopes were soon dashed this morning when the bug reared its ugly head again. I did end up taking him in even though I knew it was viral and nothing really could be done and it just had to run its course. Nonetheless, it gives me a certain piece of mind to have him checked out. The doctor recommended that he stay home from school through at least Wednesday. I've notified school and his teacher will prepare a homework packet for me to pick up.

I feel so bad because Ian is really enjoying school this year and I could tell he was disappointed when the doctor told me how long to keep him home. Please pray for the bug to exit (both Ian and this house).

Post-Vacation Overload - Day 2; Part 2

Oh dear. Life seems to have gotten away from me and I desperately need to get some of these vacation photos on here so I don't forget anything. So, I will try to be better in the next few days.

After spending a good part of our first full day at Hollywood Studios, we caught the bus to Epcot as we had dinner reservations at The Coral Reef. I wish I had some video of the kids' excitement over this restaurant. Our reservations were early enough that I we were able to request and receive a table smack dab in front of the giant aquarium.

These pictures certainly do not do it justice and if you notice, both Ian and Kyra were practically climbing on the table to get a closer look. Honestly, I don't think they would have cared if they had anything to eat because all they did was watch the the tank. Their favorites were the rays, the sharks and the sea turtles.


After dinner, we stayed in the Coral Reef area. The Disney people have really done a great job revamping the old "The Seas" exhibit. They turned it into a Nemo themed exhibit complete with a ride in a clam shell.


During Turtle Talk with Crush, Ian got to ask Crush what turtles eat. Crush then asked Ian what his favorite food was (answer: mac 'n' cheese) and then asked if it caused him to "get the bubbles"; yeah, that got him laughing. Nothing like a little potty humor from an animated turtle! They also played in this shark area except Kyra was a little frightened of the oversized sharks. She always had to be with someone for a picture.


Now, you would think that would be enough for our first day, but as you'll see in the next segment, there's always more . . .

First Day of School

I interrupt this series of vacation phots to bring you "first day of school" photos. Kyra started preschool on Monday. She can hardly contain her excitement about school. It's amazing that I got any pictures as she was all energy!


This is her "princess" backpack. She had been coveting this baby since she first laid eyes upon it at JC Penney's. I gave it to her on Sunday night and she carried it around until she went to bed.

There was definitely no separation anxiety for this girl. She marched right into school, found her cubby and got right to work.


Tuesday was Ian's turn! I can't believe I am a mom to a 5th grader! Even though I see him everyday, I can't believe how much he's grown from last year.
Obviously, you don't get as many pictures on the first day of school when your child starts growing up. Kyra had to get in on the action this morning but I think it turned out pretty cute.

One change this year is that I will be taking Ian to school since it is on the way to Kyra's preschool and they start close to the same time. Ian gets theadded benefit of a little more free time around the house, but then again, he had to put up with his paparazzi mom this morning.

We're hoping for a great year all around!

Post-Vacation Overload - Day 2; Part 1

We packed so much into our first "full" day at the World, that I am going to have to break it down into separate parts. Of course, with so much in front of you, it's definitely hard to decide where to start. After much debate, we picked "Hollywood" Studios (for all of you "old schol" folks, you can't really say that; Rich and I consistently still refer to it as "MGM"). There was a method to our madness. First off, it had a wide variety of attractions that suited both ages and, most importantly, the kids would get to eat at Pizza Planet!


We spent the first part of the morning riding "the big rides"; Ian immediately fell in love with Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller Coaster and revisited an old favorite from his memories of Dinseyland - The Tower of Terror.


Even after her encounter with the royal family the night before, Kyra was still a little leery of the larger than life characters - even the ones that didn't move or talk. If you notice in this picture, here fingers are in her ears because Lightening McQueen's and Mater's motors were "too loud".

After much debate, Kyra decided she would go see Jo Jo and Goliath but only if Daddy came with her. She was very tentative when she approached them but the characters saw that and played peek-a-boo and extended hands (and paws) for high 5s to gain her trust. When Kyra discovered they couldn't hurt/maim/frighten her, she declared that she was "brave" and pushed Daddy to the side.

After that, there was no stopping this little girl when it came to securing character autographs. She was very proud of her princess "autograph" book and clung to it while waiting in lines.


Kyra with June from Little Einsteins practicing her dancing skills.


Handy Manny was a huge hit as well.


And so we wrap up the first part of the day. Stay tuned for more . . .

Post-Vacation Overload - Day 1

Well, eight days at Walt Disney World is apparently not enough to see it all, though we did give it our best shot. I'm currently weeding through over 800 pictures that I took throughout our trip and since I share photos on this blog for family to see, I'm going to try to break them down so you aren't all overloaded at once.

These pictures are from our first day in Florida. The day started rough - over a 3-hour delay due to mechanical problems on our flight. We were supposed to arrive in Orlando around 10:30 but didn't get in until around 1:30. Since the flight was supposed to leave originally around 7:00 a.m., we had been up for a long time and were tired. Luckily, our dinner reservations were early at 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian.

Kyra was selected by the manager to open the doors to the dining room with a "Bibbity-Bobbity-Boo". When the doors swung open, there was Prince Charming waiting for Kyra.
He took her by the hand and escorted her to the table. It brought tears to this mommy's eyes!
Later, during the dinner, Kyra also had the first dance with Prince Charming (after Cinderella, of course). I don't think Kyra ate much during dinner because she was so enthralled with the characters in the dining room. Needless to say, she got over her most of her fear of characters rather quickly.

Not to be left out of the picture, while Kyra danced with Charming, Ian caught the eye of Anastasia and she pulled him out of his chair to dance. I believe Rich has some video, but Anastasia tagged Ian as her future husband and began grilling him with questions including how much money he had and if he thought she was beautiful. This made for great fodder the rest of our trip.
To add to his pre-teen embarrassment, Lady Tremaine - the wicked stepmother, also came into the picture and began grilling Ian about why he found Anastasia so attractive. Look how red his cheeks are!

As I said, Kyra got over her mortal fear of characters with Prince Charming and Cinderella, but it was a little different when it came to the wicked Stepmother and the stepsisters. In fact, she went under the table when Lady Tremaine arrived.
We coaxed her into pictures with the stepsisters though but only as long as someone else came with her!
I've been to quite a few character dinners at Disney, but this one, by far, was the most interactive. This was a most magical way to start our trip and we had one happy little princess!

Never Too Big to Be Carried

For the past few weeks, Kyra has been involved with a summer camp at Children's House Montessori. She is having a blast and it's also a nice introduction as this is where she will be attending preschool in just a few short weeks. Needless to say, with all that fun, she is definitely ready for a nap when all is said and done. Of course, it's interrupted our routine a bit, but flexibility is a wonderful thing and we've adjusted.

Let me just say, Kyra still NEEDS a nap. She can forego them every once in a great while, but she (and I) are much happier to be around if the nap takes place as scheduled. That being said, Kyra has inherited her procrastination skills from two of the best in the business. From extra potty stops, to drinks of water, to any excuse in the book NOT to go to take her nap, she will try it. Yesterday, we got to the base of the steps and looked at me pathetically and says, "I too tired, Mommy. Carry me." Knowing full well this was another tried and true delay tactic, I informed her she was too big to be carried up the steps and she would have to be a big girl and go up simply holding my hand. She did so (with amazing speed, I might add) and was soon on her way to dreamland.

So, where am I going with this tale of stay-at-home-mom-dom? I have gotten in the routine of taking my quiet time with the Lord during the first portion of nap time. I've recently been exchanging "Praise Party" requests with some friends on Facebook. Normally, I don't pay too much attention to request to join the mafia or create a farm, but this particular application intrigued me. You can "pass" your friends praises about our Lord and his many names. Each picture is accompanied by a verse that identifies where you can find said name in the Bible. I believe this particular application has 169 different identities of our Lord. Talk about a neat idea for a daily devotion!

So yesterday, I was looking at the verses for one of the particular praises and I got into Psalm 68. And here's where you begin to realize the planner that God is! Never doubt his timing!

"Praise the Lord; praise God our Savior! For each day he carries us in his arms." - Psalm 68:19 NLT

Now even though I knew it was a delay tactic, what would it have killed me to pick Kyra up and carry her those 13 steps up to her bedroom? True, I was trying to establish some boundaries, but look what our Lord does for us EVERY day! When we feel we are losing the never-ending battle with the laundry; when the dog chews off the eyes of your daughter's favorite teddy bear; when your kids are arguing again over who gets to give the dog a treat; when you feel that if just one more thing goes wrong in your day you are just going to run down the street and never come back - guess who hears you and scoops you up in His abundant arms when you feel like you can't take another step? That, my friends, is LOVE!

What a wonderful example our Lord sets before us! His power is made perfect in our weakness!

A Night Out (well, sort of . . . )

Rich had to travel for a production run yesterday leaving me here with the kiddos on a Friday evening. I will say in his defense that it is not often that he has to travel on the weekend and at least I don't have to worry about getting Ian up and off to school in time the next day.

One of the nice things that we have here in town is a second-run movie theater. Since I am generally not very good at getting to the movies in general when they first come out, it suits me just fine to watch them after they are not quite a "hot ticket" and for substantially less than it costs at the regular theater (especially now that the curly one is now of the age where we need a ticket for her too). The other nice benefit is that it is such a family friendly theater and so even though Ian and Kyra are reasonably well behaved when it comes to going to the movies, it's definitely a more "causal" atmosphere in which to watch a movie.

So, I took the kids for subs at Jimmy John's and then we went to see Monsters vs. Aliens. I wasn't quite sure what to expect as I hadn't really paid attention to the reviews when it first came out, but I will say that it was highly entertaining and provided quite a few laughs for everyone. It was definitely a treat for all even though we wish Daddy could have been watching it with us!

This Rock Looks Nice

I will start off by saying it is a good thing that little Miss Kyra is only three and her cuteness saves her many times over because that child has taken to blurting out inappropriate commentary only because she does not know any better. For example, last week we were at a store when a rather large gentleman came in as we were exiting. Before I knew it, Kyra exclaims, "Whoa! You're BIG!" I immediately corrected her and told her that it was impolite. I really don't think the gentleman was paying attention as he was already in the store as I turned to apologize.

Of course, there are times when I am at a total loss for words and that time happened to me today. We went to the pet store with Mel to get some more dog food. It's somewhat of a challenge to corral both Kyra and Mel without knocking over displays, etc., but we managed to make it through the store fairly unscathed (and without any puppy "accidents" either). As I was wrangling the two to the cash register and trying to keep my eyes on Kyra while keeping Mel away from the dog treats (why do they put those things unwrapped at a dog's level?), I heard a someone ask me which of the two was easier to handle - the two-legged or the four-legged child (given Kyra's temperament these days, I might opt for the latter). Now, realize I wasn't really looking up and the voice was clearly a very deep voice. But when I looked up, I realized it was a "lady." Now, I am not a stranger to transgender folk; however, you can imagine how strange this might appear to say, your average, ordinary three-year old who cannot let things go. Yep, before I could put my hand in front of her mouth, out comes "You sure sound different!" Yes, if they made those hermit crab rocks in adult sizes, I surely would have been under it. I really need to get some "if you can't say something nice . . ." lessons working with that child!

The Princess' English

Today, I told Kyra that if she finished all of her lunch (a delicious strawberry bagel with cream cheese), she could have a bowl of sliced strawberries. I use it as a motivational tactic because otherwise the main course gets overlooked for the much tastier fruit (who can blame her on that?). I set the bowl of sliced strawberries on the counter for her. She did indeed finish the bagel and came into the kitchen to grab the bowl of berries. Here is the rest of the conversation:

K: Can I have my strawberries now?
M: Did you finish your lunch?
K: Yep!
M: Of course you can.
K: Ok. Where's my straw?
M: Your straw is in your milk glass.
K: No - my straw!
M: (Puzzled face) What do you mean, Kyra?
K: How can I eat my strawberries?
M: Ummm, with a fork?
K: Yes, a straw! That's how I say fork in English.

I guess I need to go back to school!

A Contact Sport?

Proving that I am really behind the times, I received a call from the school health assistant this afternoon. Apparently Ian was involved in a playground "altercation" (to which he was not the aggressor). He fell down and hit his head and has a slight bump. I was glad the school called to inform me and Ms. A felt that he was acting fine and was back at class.

When Ian came home, I asked him what happened and he told me he got knocked down getting someone "out" in a game but he was feeling better. I figured it was dodgeball or something like that. No, further proving how "old fashioned" I am, apparently these days, four-square is a contact sport! Lord, please help me!

Brand Awareness Starts Early (a/k/a BUSTED!)

It really isn't my fault - the car needed gas! It was the nearest exit! Kyra needed to go potty! What's a mom to do? Could I help that the Coach outlet was in plain view of the public restrooms? It was such a short stroll and the colors in the window were oh-so-springy! I will plead the fifth on the rest of the details.

However - upon returning home from our journey to Indiana, we headed out for a bite to eat. Everything was going so well and then the hostess sat a table near ours to which Ms. Kyra sees the woman's purse and exclaims - "Look Mommy! She has a purse just like your NEW purse!" Yes, so busted (but the fact that Kyra knows a good handbag when she sees one brings a tear to the eye, does it not?)

Make New Friends?

Tonight, Rich had to work on a project late so we decided to meet for dinner at Culvers. A local school group was hosting a fundraiser and the Culver's mascot, Scoopie, was there milling about.

Kyra has always been leery of large, oversized mascots. In fact, on her first trip to Disneyland, we have nary a picture with the large rodent because she was absolutely petrified of any of the characters (though she did ultimately warm up to Remy & Emile for some reason even though they were the wrong rodents!).

We pulled into the parking lot and Scoopie was walking around the building waving to the cars. Kyra was SO excited I thought she was going to burst. All she could talk about was how she loved Scoopie and she was going to talk to Scoopie and she was going to show Scoopie her bird feeder project from Playschool. She also stated, "I used to be a-scared but I'm not a-scared anymore."

Not five minutes later, Kyra entered Culvers only to be confronted of the reality of the oversized ice cream cone with rather creepy blue eyes. Yeah, we're still a-scared! Maybe another day . . .

Photo of the Week - April 12, 2009

I had forgotten how difficult it is to get a picture of these two where both of them are smiling and looking at the camera! Anyhow, this week's photo is Ian and Kyra in their Easter finery. Kyra had been looking forward to wearing this dress since it came out of the shopping bag. Apparently I chose well because I was told it was "so princessy!" Ian, on the other hand, just wore what was given to him (I guess I'm lucky he's too young to complain about having to wear pink stripes!)

Recipe Reviews

I really love to find and try new recipes. Sometimes they aren't all that and a bag of chips, but occasionally, I hit a winner. In the past week, I have found two recipes that are going to become staples at our family dinner table!

Lasagna Soup
Recipe source: Family Fun magazine

I really love Family Fun for their craft ideas, but they always have some interesting kid-friendly recipes as well. This one sold me just on the picture alone. Now, I don't exactly consider this to be a soup but rathermore like a "stoup" (in hommage to Rachel Ray). Nonetheless, it was a HUGE hit around our dinner table. Now, if you leave the recipe "as is", it makes 13 cups. I don't know about you, but that's a heck of a lot of soup for a family of four (considering the petite one doesn't eat that much). I chose to cut the recipe in half. I used a mild italian sausage made by our local grocery store which was a little spicy (I know you are laughing at me, Ms. M!); next time I might try their sweet italian sausage blend. I also did blend the full amount of the ricotta & parmasan cheese because this is Wisconsin after all and everything is better with more cheese! The next time, I would probably add a little more pasta as well (and would proably have even more leftovers). This fed our family well plus we had a full serving of leftover. Be sure to serve with either garlic bread or breadsticks
to make it even yummier!


Ranch Style Chicken
Source: The Pioneer Woman

If I were stuck on a ranch, I think I would cook just as much as The Pioneer Woman. This woman just has a knack for coming up with some of the best recipes though I must admit, she really loves her butter and bacon. Not the greatest when trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but you can always modify! I have to say, hands down, this is probably one of the best chicken dishes EVER! I think it has to do with the honey mustard combo. Ian suggested that the only way it could possibly be better would be if I could get the bacon, cheese and chicken to all stay together when he cut it. Not sure how to do that, but I kow I'll be making this agin so I sure will try! I did use my Pampered Chef stoneware to bake the bacon rather than fry it in the pan as she suggests. I just spooned a little bit of the bacon grease into my skillet when I went to sear the chicken. I'm thinking the next time I will use turkey bacon to bring down the fat content. I don't think the lack of grease will affect the searing since I use non-stick cookware anyhow. I would say though, if you have these ingredients on hand, this is what should be for dinner tonight. Seriously, I could probably eat this every week!

Ok, that's it for now. If I come across any other winners, I'll be sure to let you know.

Slip-Sliding Good Time!

This afternoon, our church held a family afternoon at the ice skating center. Kyra had never been ice skating before, so she was really looking forward to it. In fact, before she left the house, she informed me that she would be skatinga ll by herself and she was going to do a figure eight! That child just bursts with confidence! Of course, once she strapped on the skates, it was a little different story, but once she got her "ice legs", she did ok (as long as one of us was there to push the "ice walker"). Ian really didn't have much of a problem because he's been skating a number of times with school and is much more coordinated than his Mom or Dad! However, I must "brag" that neither Rich nor myself landed on our respective keisters the whole time. In the end, Kyra outlasted all of us (I think she could have gone the whole two-hour timeframe). Anyhow, here's some pictures from the event!

Kyra got the hang of skating once she secured a walker
Clearly skating was not as easy as Kyra thought it would be!
Ian took to the ice without any problem.
Another shot of Ian in action!

Ick - Go away!

Last week on Wednesday, Kyra came down with a "wonderful" stomach bug that lasted through Friday. On Saturday, I was down for the count (not sick to my stomach, but definitely not in any shape to go anywhere). On Sunday, Rich and I headed out to a Superbowl party only to be called home by the babysitter during the 4th quarter because the ick had struck Ian. He stayed home from school on Monday but was feeling better on Tuesday so he went back. Of course, this morning, he was not feeling well again. I am so sick of this ick! I think the only reason Rich hasn't caught it is because he's been traveling so much! You an't catch what you're not around to get, right? Calgon - take me away!

The Birthday Boy

Ian turned 10 on Thursday and while it's hard for me to believe that he is already a decade old, we sure had fun celebrating. In fact, the celebration stretched over two days (three if you count the sleep-over) since we wanted max time to celebrate his birthday dinner at Red Robin.

Here are some pictures of the birthday boy:


Call the fire department! 10 candles this year! Lucky I had enough. And the Culver's Cookie Dough Craving Concrete Mixer Ice Cream Cake hit the spot!



Kyra began "negotiating" with Ian from the minute we picked him up from school to be allowed to "help him" open his presents. Ian was a really good sport about it though Kyra didn't quite understand that it was Ian's birthday and not hers! Also, never let Kyra see you when you are wrapping birthday gifts as she will tell what is in them before they are even opened!



One of Ian's "top" gifts was Big Brain Academy Wii Degree.



On Friday we let Ian choose the restaurant to celebrate his birthday. It's really no surprise that he chose Red Robin as it has always been his favorite restaurant. Here he is getting his birthday sundae and song.

That's all for now!