Make a Smilebox postcard

What would you do?

....If your child used her lip gloss to create art on the TV screen?

Yes, this happened here tonight...

Moments like this makes the terribly LONG wait, the days of total meltdown (pre and post adoption) totally worth every second...

I'm searching for butterfly inspired captions, clip art etc...can you help me? I would like to update Jaiden's page...but I'm lacking inspiration...I know what I want but I don't know how to get it there...

Hi! How've YOU been?

Consolidation

I have really enjoyed this blog, it has been my outlet throughout the adoption process...even though I didn't get hooked onto blogging until midway through I've met a lot of great people that have shared this journey and made me a part of a really great community. I hope to continue to keep up with you as time goes by, getting to know you better, seeing your dreams come true, your days of disorder and chaos, the laughter, the tears and all the in betweens.

Looking back I have gone through a multitude of emotions and sharing them and connecting with others out there that share the same has been a blessing.

I feel it is time to grow a little more and sometimes before you grow you have to prune so in order to dedicate more time to the entire family I am going to focus on our family blog. I've come to realize that I've begun adding more and more "other stuff" to what originally started out as Jaiden's page (with the intention of scrapbooking the comments) I would like to try to just highlight her on here so on occasion I may add a photo update or a tidbit of news...there is always something happening around our place and I will try to start doing a better job of documenting everything so please stay tuned...and update your bookmarks :)

Snowball Fight!!!

We had our first warm day yesterday!!! It got above freezing! The sun melted a lot of the snow and softened the hardpak so it was slushy. I taught Jared how to make snowballs and then turned my back on him....SMACK right in the back! Then I turned and gave his dad a kiss...SMACK he got BOTH of us at the same time! Ha! Beware of what you teach your children ;)

We went to Best Buy to look at cameras again...still haven't found "the one", and we saw 6 deer in our neighbors yard!!! As we drove by I thought to myself...hmmm they didn't have any animated deer in their yards before...thinking they were statues...then I glanced back and realized they were REAL! There were 3 of them in the front yard and 3 of them on the side. I've never seen them that close before. We do see a lot of deer in fields around here but never in other peoples yards. They were gorgeous! All fat and fluffy with their soft winter coats. I wish I'd had my camera at that moment.

Today is going to be another warm day (high 30s) we are starting to see DIRT!!! YAY!!! Spring is on its way!!!!!!

Snowy Spring

This is our street (to the left) on Saturday morning...before 3 more inches of snow fell.

New Camera Suggestions?

My battery died in my camera and I can't find the charger...again. This happens repeatedly around here. I lose things all the time but they usually pop up somewhere. I haven't been able to find it anywhere. I've done this in the past and reordered a new charger, gotten the wrong charger, then found the charger. It's a vicious cycle.

In the meantime of trying to find the charger (again) I would like to get a backup camera that takes regular batteries. Something that takes a really good picture but fairly inexpensive. My current camera is a Sony and I love it alot (when it's charged) its lightweight and compact, fits into my pocket and easy to snap pics on the go. I would like another Canon but I can't decide which one...anyone have any suggestions or helpful advice?

Lion or Lamb?

March is one of my favorite months of the year, the daffodils pop their heads out and say HELLO SPRING!!! This has always, always been my "sign" that spring is right around the corner....

well, this morning I got a different kind of sign. As I was pulling out of the driveway I saw a bird. I have not seen a bird since fall so this has to be a sign right??? I'm not sure what kind of bird it was...it was fat and gray, kinda small and round like a robin. But robins are red aren't they? I don't know very much about birds, and guess I should as much as I love nature.

uh oh, I keep hearing this nasty word again...SNOW is coming our way. From my viewpoint at my desk, all I see is blue sky...I would love it very much if it would stay that way. Please oh please God, no more snow!

On a happier note, I have sprouted tomato seeds growing under a grow light in my dining room...we may be eating artificially grown tomatoes if this nasty weather continues. I am trying on that I've never even seen before a "yellow pear" grape tomato. Anyone heard of this? The kids LOVE tiny tomatoes so if I can get all 72 plants to survive (half of those are red grapes) we will be in the 'maters'...:)

Farewell February

It is with much joy and anticipation that we turned the page of February off our calendar this year...at least for me it was exciting. I am glad to get that month behind me and have the promise of spring around the corner. We have lots more cold weather to come but I am praying that the snow is done. I soooo can't wait to see the earth donned once again in all its brown and green splendor. The white gets very very old after a while and you begin to wonder if you aren't really locked up inside a medical facility going mentally insane...everything is so white.

I took Jaiden and Jared out for another spin on the dike the other day. I wish I could figure out how to add video, I took one of the three of us sledding downhill at a pretty good clip. It was fun, yes I know I can't believe it myself, I actually had a fun moment out in the cold. Jaiden was really loving riding on the sled - I pulled her along all the way there and back. Guess there is one nice thing about our roads being covered in ice, pulling kids on sleds is easier....but it makes driving a car a bit tricky.

Not much going on today, Jared is playing outside in the backyard, Cody is at work, I went grocery shopping, Jaiden is playing with playdough, Scott is doing the laundry. And we're having a roast for dinner :) I have been craving roast beef lately for some weird reason.

Hope everyone is doing well. Have a great week!

Now or Later?

Jaiden luuuuuvs her bubble baths. I promised her a bubble bath Fri night and got busy and it was past her bedtime before we knew it....so the next morning she reminded me of her missed bubble bath. I asked her "Do you want to have it now or later?" She gave me a quizzical look, thought about it for a second and said "Now!"

She got her bubble bath

She's a quick one

This morning at breakfast Jaiden had some syrup on her forhead so I ask her "what's that on your head?" Her quick reply was "my hair"

She has a quick wit!!! At only 2 years old! Amazing!

Happy Valentines Day!

How sweeeeet it is

I have 5 days off to spend with my kiddos :) I am so excited! This will be a great time to catch up and reconnect with them.

We had some more snow last night, so where was hubs at 4am this morning? Clearing the driveway of course! That man LOVES to move some snow! After that he surprised me with all my favorite things, 4 different kinds of dark chocolate....Godiva all the way down to Reeses and a bottle of kahlua! I am so spoiled! That should help ease the winter frustration a bit. That and the bag of oreos, and the chocolate ice cream he brought home from the grocery store the other day...the man loves me what can I say!

I guess you are wondering what all the chocolate is about...my resolution this year is to eat more chocolate... So far I'm stickin to it very well ;)

So I'll be off now to play with my kiddos. HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!! May you be blessed with an abundant love that overflows your heart and makes everyone around you have an extra special day too! :)

Much Love and Chocolate ,
Kim :)

Catching Up

We are having a blizzard...and it's not from DQ. We haven't gotten any snow but the winds are kicking up the snow we have quite a bit. The sun is shining though, so it makes for just a hazy kinda day.

Not much going on around here, just staying warm and checking out homes online. Hubs finally figured out that we need to move BEFORE he retires (I've been trying to tell him this for the past 3 years) We want to move to Dallas and are looking into building a home. Right now everything is just dreams so I will tell you more if you want to know...just ask :) We're trying not to get too excited about it just yet. We still have the hurdle of selling our house here first.

Fire and Ice

This is going to be a two part story, I'll start with the most recent first.

Tonight we were sitting at the bar, chillin, Jaiden was snacking on her some crushed ice cubes when all of a sudden we hear a "uh, uh, uh" Daddy looks up at her and busts out laughing - she's got a huge piece of ice stuck to her top lip! OMG I didn't think that actually really happened!!!! (Remember the movie of the little boy with his tongue stuck to the pole?) So I grabbed her up and ran her to the sink to dislodge the iceberg under cold water....all the while of course I'm thinking 'where's my camera, where's my camera'

The next story is not a funny. Its one of those moments that you just never want to happen as a parent but according to Murphey's Law will have to happen 99% of the time...well we were cookin up some eggs a couple Sundays ago, Jaiden and I, she was sittin so nice on the countertop watching me scramble and no sooner than I lifted up the pan to put the eggs into her plate but "plop" her little hand went smack down right dab on top of the burner. I snatched her up and ran cold water on her hand but it had already turned white and hard. Ugh! So then I tried some aloe, which made it start to sting, so then we soaked the hand in cold water...all this time Jaiden has not shed a tear, just looking at me like "what the heck just happened?" She was very good about keeping her hand in the cold water, then when she got bored with that she carried a baggie of ice around for the rest of the day. By the next day it had started to bubble up and she was starting to use her hand again....but it looked horrid! I felt so bad and she was such a good little trooper about it. I kept salve and ointment on it and it is doing much much better now. We both learned a lesson from that experience....whatever the boys didn't do... Jaiden will! She is my take life by the horns and shake it kinda girl...LORD help us!!!

This is soooo Un fun

Sorry I haven't been updating lately, there has not been much to talk about except the weather and it certainly isn't much to brag about. Today is hopefully one of the coldest days yet, with the wind chill of around 54 below zero. The temp is -24 right now and our high is expected to be negative twelve today. I hold my breath and run but the few breaths that I take to get into work still is like a sharp knife cutting me into. This is totally un fun. I would not recommend living in the north to anyone. Even the locals are saying its cold. They say not to go out without your winter survival kit....

My idea of a winter survival kit is:
A nice warm house, a warm blankie, a hot cup of coffee, chocolate and a good book

Stay warm!
Cuddles :)

*Evening update - it was sunny and cloudless sky all day - when the wind died down it wasn't bad at all - I wasn't cold a bit when I went out to my car this afternoon - the car didn't care for it too much and boy she sure was sluggish but she warmed right up and it sure is nice to have heated seats...what a great feature! My toes were a bit cold but my tush was nice and toasty on the ride home ;)

Brrrrr Baby!

We were just issued a wind chill warning...the temps could reach -50 tonight!

I am seriously thinking about hibernation! Taking a winters supply of oreos, milk and chocolate bars and not coming out of my house until spring...ok I suppose I'd have to get food for the kids too. They love fruit and lately the fresh fruit supply has been dwindling into very shoddy selection. The grapes are about the size of a pea.