Archive for the ‘Life’ Category

Hijacked and "The Girls"

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

Ben beat me to it.  This post, was one I was going to write as soon as I had time to sit down and write it.  However, he beat me too it.  That’s okay though, because what he said was so important I feel like I can repeat it in my own words.

I think it is awesome when we can get together with those we love, who might I add we don’t get to see that often, and the moment we get together we are able to pick up right where we left off as if months hadn’t gone by since our last visit.  It is amazing.  Dave and Catherine are dear friends to us and their friendship is one like I described above.  Again, amazing!  They are the type of friends that no matter what the scenario, whatever the combination of the four of us are around (or six if you count Mikayla and Molly) we can have fun and there be no awkward pauses in conversation.  It might be me, Ben and Cat or Dave, Cat and me or maybe just Ben and Cat and there is no awkwardness.  Does this make sense?   Ben may have said it more eloquently than I, but I treasure the friendship we have with the Altmaiers.   In Ben’s word, a "Pretty mundane and typical" weekend, spent with great friends was just what this girl needed!

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Dave goofing off at Cat’s birthday lunch.

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Ben hanging with Molly.

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Ben has this thing with picking people’s noses, just ask our friends from high school.

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Cat and Mikayla

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Birthday girl with her kiddo at a yummy French restaurant.

 

One of the greatest parts of this weekend was introducing Mikayla to Molly.  Catherine and I were driving around Tallahassee and she made a comment about "the girls".  How cool is it that we can refer to our kiddos as "the girls"?  Catherine has been a friend of mine since elementary school.  We were in girls scouts together, attended the same youth group in middle and high school, were college roommates, she was a bridesmaid in my wedding…the list could go on and on.  To say the least we have been friends for a really long time.  She is one of the few people in life that I can be 100% real with.  I would argue that she knows me as well as Ben.  I can call her for a laugh, cry, rant and more.  Good friends are hard to come by and so that is why I think it is so cool we can refer to our daughters as "the girls".  I just hope that "the girls" have a friendship like their moms and that Mikayla finds her Catherine one day!

2010-03-16 Tally 058 "The girls"

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My Little Chef

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Mikayla apparently takes after me and loves to cook.  Take a look for yourself.  Note the level of concentration on her face.

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We also had our first go at spaghetti this week.  I must say, she stayed cleaner than some of my kiddos at school when she ate it.

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Sunday marked Mikayla’s 10 month birthday.  Hard to believe 10 months have already passed.  Check out this, this and this post for past giraffe growth pictures.  Here she is at 10 months (note it is getting harder and harder to get her to lay still long enough to snap the photos).

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She is now standing for long periods and scooting along furniture.  She has even gone from sitting to standing a couple of times.  We fear walking is in our near future!  "Talking" up a storm too.  And even dancing a little, if you could call it that!  Here are a couple more videos of my Little Munchkin!

Sorry, this post got longer than I had intended.  Hope you enjoyed!

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Pathetic

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Over the weekend I turned 27.  I wouldn’t consider myself old by any means, just older!  Ben so kindly made me a cake complete with 27 candles…so creative.

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Unfortunately, I was unable to blow out 27 candles in one fail swoop.  Pathetic.  Judge for yourself!

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I feel like I am in the Twilight Zone

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

For those of you that know my husband well, you know that he wears black and khaki a lot.  By a lot I would ay 80-90% of the time, seriously not joking here.  Well, the other day he emerged from the room with a red shirt and jeans on.  I almost didn’t recognize him.  He looks good in red, but I just wasn’t used to this color combination.  He even likes to dress our daughter in black and khaki when given the chance.  Look at my little Twinkies, aren’t they cute?

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Speaking of my cuties, sometimes they just like to sit and play together.  Here they are having a staring contest (please note the red shirt on Ben and not black).

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Goofy grins.2010-02-26 Olympics, February random 103

 

Cute smiles. 2010-02-26 Olympics, February random 104

Acting silly with daddy, doesn’t get much cuter than this! 2010-02-26 Olympics, February random 105

 

"Look Mom, I can scrunch Daddy’s face!" 2010-02-26 Olympics, February random 107

 

Mikayla exploring the fact that they both have mouths.2010-02-26 Olympics, February random 108

 

"What’s in there daddy?" 2010-02-26 Olympics, February random 110

 

Sweet kisses from daddy. 2010-02-26 Olympics, February random 111

 

I am pretty sure she is held in the air and upside down more than any other baby in the world! 2010-02-26 Olympics, February random 114

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Here is a quick shot of me and Mikayla after her play time with daddy.

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Dishes…blah!

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

I love to cook, but I hate doing dishes.  I always have, just ask my mom!  It seems like dishes are never ending in our house.  If it isn’t plates and bowls it is breast pumps and bottles.  It never ends, goes on forever.  I am looking in the kitchen as I am typing and thinking about how I can get out of doing dishes.  However, seeing as how Ben is out of town listening to Desmond Tutu speak they are calling my name.  But maybe I could come up with a good excuse for not doing them…

I could say that Mikayla woke up, was fussy and needed her mom.  I don’t think Ben would go for that one though.

Maybe I could blame it on the Olympics.  I mean they only come on once every four years (ok 2 if you count summer and winter, but who’s counting?).  Don’t think he will buy that one either.

I could say that I traded doing this dishes with Shiloh for letting her sleep in the bed tonight.  Ben would be really unhappy with this one seeing as how Shiloh likes to sleep on his side of the bed!

I could blame it on Etsy, I do get sucked in there quite often.

Alas, no excuse is good enough.  I must venture to the kitchen to do the dishes.  Just so you know, I am not happy about it!

Dishes…blah!

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I’m In Love…

Monday, February 15th, 2010

…with this man…

Ben Kickert just finishing a round of Disk Golf at Presten Miller Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

(Photo courtesy of Dallas Gilliam)

…with this Baby girl…

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…and with everything involved with this symbol…

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That’s right ladies and gentlemen, I am in love with the Olympics, both winter and summer.  I love everything about it.  The competition.  The history.  The stories.  The excitement.  The events.  The opening ceremonies.  The athletes.  The crowds.  I love it all.  I have been asked before which are my favorite, Winter or Summer Olympics.  It is a hard choice for me.  I love events from both equally.  The Summer Olympic events are familiar, but the Winter Olympic events are dangerous, fast paced and excitingly unknown (to me at least)!  It is just too hard to choose.  Which is your favorite?

I love the Olympics so much that I am going to be spending the next two weeks teaching my students about the Olympics.  We will learn about the different sports, the history, chart medal winnings, watch short clips of events, and culminate with an Olympic day next Friday complete with our very own Kindergarten Olympics.  It is going to be crazy fun!

So, if you go looking for me in the next two weeks and you can’t find me, you might try looking in my living room on the couch.  You will more than likely find me glued to the TV screen at night watching the athletes in what some would say as their ultimate lifelong goal…striving to achieve an Olympic gold.  Yay for Olympics!

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How to Make Hair Clips

Friday, February 12th, 2010

If you read this post, you know that I have a new obsession…making hair clips.  They are so much easier than I thought they would be.  A little time + a little patience + cute crafting supplies = Amazingly easy hair clippies!  Here are a few questions I have been asked and their answers.

What supplies will I need?

To get started you will need the following supplies:

  1. Hair clips – alligator or snap clips
  2. Ribbon – Various sizes will do depending on the type of clip you are wanting to make.
  3. Glue – I have used both hot glue and a crafting glue called E600.  However, I have found it is easier to make the clips with the hot glue (low heat) than the other.  E600 has a very strong odor and gave me a really bad headache every time.  Just remember, that a little glue goes a long way…Just a dot, not a lot!
  4. Crafting supplies – Any kind will do…flower petals, jewels, beads, brads, and buttons to name a few.  Pick your poison or mix them all around!  I have even started using felt embellishments.

Where can I get supplies for hair clips?

I have gotten most of my supplies at Hobby Lobby (a crafting store).  If you have a Michaels nearby you might check there.  Other places to look are dollar stores (Mighty Dollar has some great selections), the Target dollar aisle (I have found brads and ribbon here), and any other place that sells scrapbooking supplies. 

How do I make a hair clip?

Start by measuring and cutting the ribbon to desired length.  Use a lighter to lightly singe the edges of the ribbon.  Then glue the ribbon on the clip of your choice, being careful not to glue the clip shut.  If you are using E600 you will want to have a dowel rod or something along those lines to keep clips open while drying.  Once dry, add the embellishment of your choice.  Scrapbooking flowers fastened with brads make cute clips.  As do, unique buttons.  Really, hair clips can be as simple or as in depth as you desire.  If you are handy with a crocheting needle, crocheted flowers make cute snap clips.  One important thing to keep in mind is the direction the clip will be placed in individuals hair.  If you are using something like a bird then the direction will matter. 

I am not crafty, so I can’t make these…

Trust me, if you can find some cute crafty supplies and use a glue gun, you can make hair clips.  It is really a lot easier than it looks!

 

Happy clip making!

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Sugar Mamma’s Shop

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

One of my students at school always has the cutest bows and hair clips.  She is not overly girly, so her clips are pretty down to earth.  Right up my alley!  She even made MLK a few of her own (which Ben decided to put in her hair all at one time)!

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  After careful inspection (and a few conversations) with the mom, and some encouragement from a fellow teacher (who also braved the world of clip making) I decided to give clip making a try.  It might look intimidating, but it is actually quite simple.  After making my first clip I vowed to never again by a clip I could make.  Here are what my first few looked like.  Nothing too hard, simple ribbon glued on a clip with a button or two for some added glam!

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This was fun for awhile, but then I decided I wanted to elaborate some.  I got some flower petals and put them together with brads to make some bows.  I don’t have pictures, but they look similar to the clips the parent made for MLK (pictured above).  After making these clips for awhile, scouring multiple Etsy sites for ideas, and a quick sewing session with my dear friend Dacia I decided to venture into the world of felt.  All you ladies (or gentlemen) out there toying with the idea of making felt creations I encourage you to do so.  Once you get the blanket stitch down it is a piece of cake!  Here are some of my favorite creations thus far.

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My team teacher and I have decided to team up and host a table at a Spring Craft Bazaar hosted by our school (if anyone is interested tables are $25 and you get to keep all the money you make).  Hopefully these little clippies will make us some money!  Oh, and just for fun, I have coined my clip "shop", Sugar Mamma’s Shop.  It is not a real shop anywhere, but I would love to sell some clips if you know anyone that might be interested!

I have made some other crafts lately, but I will save that for a later post.  I have also been busy playing in all our fun snow with this little bundle of joy (and her daddy and Shiloh too)!

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Chatty Cathy

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Sometimes we just like to talk…that’s all!

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MLK Update

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Day, Mikayla’s namesake.  Check back later for pictures and comments about this and how we celebrated.  But for tonight, here are some recent pictures of our little MLK.

If you recall this post, you will be able to see how much MLK has really grown in 8.5 months.

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Mom got MLK this little zebra at a consignment sale, and while she isn’t quite ready to ride on her own, she is enjoying it.  Even Shiloh wanted in on the action! 2010-January 066   2010-January 068 2010-January 070

 

MLK was very eager to help me fold and put away the laundry yesterday.  She was a great helper!

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