Archive for April, 2010

A Year Ago…

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

I had just finished my last paper for my master’s class and decided to relax for the rest of the evening.  My maternity leave had just started, but Mikayla was still in my big belly.

week 39 005 Thirty-nine weeks pregnant and still growing!

A year ago, Ben and I decided to head into town for some snacks.  Much to my dismay Taco Bell was out of refried beans.  How does a “Mexican” restaurant run out of refried beans?  Never mind, that is a different rant. 

A year ago, we were a family of two plus Shiloh that was about to become a family of three.

Christmas - New Year 037Christmas picture 2008 

A year ago, I was a breast pump virgin.  Now, after many days of making bottles for my daughter I am no longer a breast pump virgin.  For the last 10 months (I didn’t pump much the first two months), I have use my handy breast pump to supply milk for my daughter at least once a day.  It has been an up and down battle, but we made it!

A year ago, these were Tim’s thoughts on what was happening in our lives.

A year ago, this is how I looked laying in a hospital bed anxiously awaiting the arrival of Baby Kickert.

Mikayla 001Catching some Zzz’s after the amazing epidural 

A year ago, I first held Mikayla in my arms and experienced a bond like no other.  I nursed my daughter for the first time and cried as my husband sang her lullabies beside me. 

Mikayla 002The first time I held Mikayla

Mikayla 011 Mikayla 053 

A year ago, my life changed forever.

A year ago, I added another birthday to my calendar, the birthday of my daughter:  Mikayla Lillian Kickert.

Mikayla 085First Family Photo 

Mikayla 096Mikayla’s first growth shot with the giraffe 

Happy Birthday Little Munchkin!  I hope your first birthday is extra special!

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Posted in Life, Parenting |

Moby Wrap Wanna Be

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

For those of you who aren’t up on your “baby wearing” terminology, a Moby Wrap is a type of wrap that allows you to wear your baby hands free.  Check out their website here.

We recently invested in a “Moby Wrap”.  I use the quotations because we didn’t pay the heavy ticket price of a traditional one, I made it myself.  See details below.  I had shown Ben pictures of how to wear a Moby wrap, he watched a video and this is what he came up with:

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I ask you, does this look safe?  And he is the one who stays home all day with our sweet baby…

As mentioned previously, I did not pay the full price of a genuine Moby Wrap, I made my own.  I got the idea from my friend Stephanie who made one for her little boy.  Basically you buy 5-6 yards of fabric (50% polyester, 50% cotton), cut in half lengthwise and then follow the instructions on the Moby Wrap website to get your baby in the proper holding position.  For 12 bucks it made two (one for me and one for my future niece)!  Can’t hardly beat that!  I just wish I hadn’t waited this long to make one for Mikayla. 

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Posted in Parenting |

Spring Break Visitation

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

I love being a teacher for many reasons, but one of my favorites is all the fun breaks we get, like spring break.  Our spring break was a week ago, but I am just now finding the time to blog about it.  We spent our week visiting some friends and places we rarely get to see. 

First Visit:  My mom, sister and nephews came to town to visit.  We had planned on visiting Hopscotch’s Playplace but it was closed.  They have the most random hours and this is the second time they have come to town intending to play here and it been closed.  We ended up at Imagination Station, which I think Tyson enjoyed more.  There wasn’t much for MLK to do, but I think she still had a good time watching her cousins play.

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Second Visit:  We visited our dear friends Mark and Nicole and their new little boy, Jack.  These are friends from college who moved from BG several years ago.  We spent time playing games, introducing kiddos, taking a nice stroll around a park and eating ice cream!  Here are some shots from the visit.

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Third Visit:  Throughout the week I visited with some neighborhood kids.  When the weather is warm the kids in our neighborhood flock to our cul-de-sac to play.  Spring Break was no different.  One afternoon Mikayla and I went out front and sat on a blanket to play.  Within ten minutes our blanket was filled with neighborhood kids wanting to play with Mikayla and her toys.  I passed out leftover hard boiled eggs and we sat around eating and playing.  It was a lot of fun.  I didn’t manage to snap pictures of the kids, but here are a few of Mikayla during our impromptu play date hanging with the big kids.  As you can tell, she thought she was pretty cool!

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Fourth Visit:  MLK and I headed to Smiths Grove to visit with my team teacher.  Not only are we team teachers, but we are friends.  We want desperately for our daughters to be friends too.  We got together, played, chatted and had a little photo shoot in a neighbors yard.  It was a relaxing way to spend one of the last days of my spring break.  She has some great pictures from the day on her blog.  You can read about it here. 

Fifth Visit:  On Sunday we packed up our gear and headed to Mammoth Cave.  You can read about our trip on Ben’s blog here.  It was a great day to be outside and the perfect end to my Spring Break.  I think MLK enjoyed being on the trail and I know Shiloh enjoyed herself!  Here are some fun memories from the day.

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I had a great Spring Break visiting all these fun people and places, but most of all I enjoyed spending time with my family.  I can’t wait for Summer break and all the fun we are going to have!

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Posted in Life |

Ch – Chubby

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

Here are some more funny stories from my students!  These were overheard while they were completing work.  I hope you enjoy.

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Student 1:  What makes the "ch" sound?

Student 2:  C-H…like in chubby.

Student 1:  (very offended) I am not chubby!

Student 2:  (very matter of fact) I know you’re not chubby.  Chubby means half fat … like me!  I am half fat, chubby.

Student 3:  Hey, my sister is chubby!

Student 1:  So what makes the "ch" sound?

~

Student 1:  Have you ever been robbed?

Student 2:  No, have you?

Student 1:  Yeah, because we lived in C—d (I don’t want to say the actual city for confidentiality purposes, but in a kids mind it could be any city on the globe).  They stole my Cinderella movie.  That is why we moved to Bowling Green.  People don’t get robbed here, only in Cleveland.

Student 2:  Oh!

There you have it folks, we don’t get robbed in Bowling Green!

~

Again, you might not find these stories humorous, but at the time they were quite funny!

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Posted in Work |

Easter 2010

Monday, April 5th, 2010

The day began with a beautiful sunny morning and the birds chirping.  We woke up, got ready for church, ran a little late (as usual these days), loaded up the car and were on our way for a fun filled day.  After church we returned home to prepare for our Easter dinner with some close friends (and finish cleaning).  I cooked a spiral ham (well really just heated it up) and while we waited for our friends to get here we snapped some pictures in our front yard:

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All smiles on the beautiful day.  Check out my diva sandals and fantastic dress made by Dacia!

2010-04-04 Easter 053Just hanging around with daddy! 

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Family photo

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My baby girl and me

After a quick photo shoot we gave Mikayla her Easter basket. I think she was more impressed with the noises the objects made than she was the actual objects.  Her basket was filled with Puffs, a book, bubbles, rabbit ears (for pictures later this week) and large plastic eggs stuffed with smaller plastic eggs.  Side note – she had actually been playing with the eggs all week.  We are not ashamed to regift!

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 Are you surprised she ended up with a giraffe Easter basket??

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Next on our list of things to do was Easter dinner with some close friends.  After we ate we let the kiddos dye eggs (even MLK "dyed" one) and had an Easter egg hunt in our backyard.

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She wasn’t sure what to think about the eggs, actually she was a little upset I wouldn’t let her eat it!

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Ready, Set, Hunt!

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Our Egg Hunt Boot Camp really paid off, she knew exactly what to do and found a whopping four eggs!

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The kiddos showing off their "loot"! 

After the hunt the men went and played disc golf while the women and kids went and hung out outside and chatted.  We topped the evening off with grilled brats and a fire in our backyard…PERFECT!  I wish everyday could be this relaxing and fun filled!

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Posted in Life |

Kindergarten Students Say the Darndest Things

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

I have decided to start sharing some of the funny things my kiddos at school say.  You may not think they are funny, but I sure do…enjoy!

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When having a discussion about stomach and intestines one student says, "I know where your food goes when it leaves your stomach…your testicles!"

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Student:  "Mrs. Kickert, if you love ______ I can’t love you anymore."

Me: "I am sorry, but I love both of you." (insert a bit of explanation why and how that makes me sad, etc)

Student:  "Well I don’t love you anymore."

Next day…

Student:  "Mrs. Kickert, remember what I told you yesterday."

Me:  "About you not loving me, yeah."

Student:  "I didn’t mean it, I still love you."

 ~

The other day I saw a student picking at her bottom.  When I asked her what was wrong she replied, "Mom made me wear my wedgie pants today".  I didn’t know you could buy wedgie pants these days, but now I do!

 ~

Student:  "Mrs. Kickert, do you have any appetizer?"

Me:  "Appetizer?"

Student:  "You know, hand appetizer?"

Me:  "Oh, hand sanitizer!"

Student:  "Yeah, hand-itizer."

~

Stay tuned for more funnies!

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Posted in Work |

Sewing Envy

Friday, April 2nd, 2010

In high school I took a sewing class to fill an easy senior year credit.  At the time I didn’t truly appreciate the skill and craft of sewing, but now my lack of knowledge has created some sewing envy. 

For all you out there that love the look of BabyLegs legwarmers like me, but are not a fan of the high ticket price check this out.  How simple!  If only I knew how to sew…

Then there are these adorable outfits my friend Dacia made for Mikayla.  She made a dress and shirt out of some very fun fabrics.  I am currently working on matching clips, but I am sure they will not even compare to these fun outfits.  Again, if I only knew how to sew…

 April 1 2010 - Cicis and dress 022

April 1 2010 - Cicis and dress 026

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Posted in Life |