Twicky Elf

"The elf was twicky to find for me."     -Kirsten Harpole, age 3

This is what Kirsten declared upon finding the Secret Elf this morning after searching the entire downstairs of the house.  He was on top of Daddy's step ladder that was leaning against the kitchen wall (we had just used it to put up the Christmas tree).

What a compliment!

"mommy, you wook wike uh Pwedator gur"     -Kirsten, age 3

This is what Kirsten told me tonight while Kirsten and I were getting ready for the Predators game (well, I was getting ready, she was playing with her babies in the bathroom).

Just for the record, this is what a "Pwedator gur" actually looks like, and although I definitely don't look like that, it was the highest compliment I have ever been paid. Thank-you, sweet girl, you made mommy's night!

Ocracoke.....

I looked update Ocracoke today just to see how it was after Hurricane Irene hit the island on Saturday (Aug 27, 2011).  This is the update I found that was issued by Hyde County Public Information:

“There is no reentry to Ocracoke for non-resident property owners or visitors until further notice”.

hmmm.....we are suppose to fly there for a weekend getaway in less than 4 weeks (on Sept 23).....doesn't look like that is going to happen!

Swimming Lessons

Kirsten and I started a "mommy and me" swimming class today at Seastar Swim School.  Dominick has been taking lessons there, and every week when we go, she says, "my wimmin wesson, too, mommy?"  So, I signed her up for a class, but I didn't know if she was ready to do one with Dominick yet, so I thought we would do the first class together.  She did so awesome!!  She went under several times and absolutely loved it.

Oh, and on the way there, she said, "my want pink one, mommy". I  asked what she wanted pink. "dat towel pink, mommy". She must have seen me put green and blue beach towels in the van for us, and clearly didn't agree with that :)

"Dat beebee's time-out, mommy"

This morning, Kirsten lined all of her babies up along the wall in the living room. When I asked her what she was doing, she replied, "dat beebee's time-out, mommy". She has NEVER been in timeout in her two years of life, so she must be getting this idea from watching her brother......I am wondering what they all did to get themselves ALL in time-out at the exact same time :)

Robots and Piggies

On the way home today, Dominick suddenly announced "when I turn 5 on my birthday in December 8th, I want to have a dinosaur party". I cringed. Not because of the unexpected dinosaur-theme, but because, "eeeeek! he is GOING.TO.BE.FIVE on his next birthday". Wow. Then it hit me, he already knows what kind of party he wants. In February. He has, I then realize, caught on to the fact that for the past four birthdays, mommy has selected and planned his party theme without soliciting any input from him. He probably thinks that if he doesn't pipe up now, who knows what kind of party he would get this year? (In my defense, he has LOVED all of the parties I have planned for him). Kirsten then said, "my piggies, mommy". She often calls her toes her "piggies", so I just assumed that since were were driving in the van, she had probably ditched her shoes and socks (like always), and was referring to her "piggies" (ie: toes). "Where's your piggies?", I said. "my wike pink piggies my hap birt day, mommy". Oh, nevermind, she wasn't telling me about her toes, she was telling me that she wanted a piggy birthday party. A pink one. It evidently only took her TWO years to figure out that mommy sort of controls the birthday party festivies around here. Well, looks like that is all about to change. Looks like I'll be searching for some dinosaur and piggy cake ideas, favors, cricut cartridges, etsy goodies, etc, etc. Oh, wait, before we were even home, Dominick declared that, "actually, mommy, I forgot. I actually want a robot party for my birthday". And to think I JUST seen a Robot Cricut Cartridge on clearance somewhere, and although I can't remember where, I do remember thinking (at the time that I saw it), "well, of course they have a ROBOT cartridge on clearance. Who in the world would need (or want) a cartridge full of just robots?". Turns out that someone is me. Now, to just find a piggy one on clearance, too.....

Birthday Party Requests?

"Mommy, when I'm five, I want to have a robot birthday party."     - Dominick Harpole, age 4

"my piggy hap birt-day, mommy."     Kirsten Harpole, age 2

So, I guess we have their next round of birthday parties all figured out :)

Sick Day

Kirsten developed a fever yesterday afternoon, and was home with me today. She was sitting on my desk (pretending) to be 'talking' on the phone to daddy while I tried to get a few work things done. All of the sudden, she noticed my earrings....something she's never done before. She promptly hung up the phone, and then moved my hair aside so that she could get a good look at the earring in my left ear. After examining it closely, she then asked, "whut dat, mommy?", to which I replied, "that's my earring, Kirsten. I have another one in my other ear" (as I turned my head to show her the one in my right ear). She got the biggest smile on her face, and then proceeded to grab the sides of my head and turn it from side to side, admiring the bling in my ears. She then decidedly stated/asked, "my wike dat my ear, mommy?". Translation: can I please get my ears pierced and wear pretty diamond earrings like you do, mommy?". I just laughed. Where does she get this stuff? I have a feeling this won't be the last time we have a "discussion" about her wanting to get her ears pierced.

Do you know who this one is, mommy?

When Nana Kelley was visiting us last week from Alaska, she & Dominick watched the movie, "Cars" together while I made dinner one night.  While they watched it, Dominick asked her lots of questions about the names of all of the cars in the movie.  Nana Kelley looked them up online for him and they learned them together.  This morning, he brought me the Cars movie case, and the following conversation took place.....

Dominick: (pointing to his Cars dvd case) “Do you know who this one is, mommy?”.
Me: “hmmmmm, I’m not sure, buddy, is it Sherriff?
Dominick: “nooo, mommy” (and laughs)
Me: “is it Red?”
Dominick: “nooooooo, mommy” (and laughs some more).
Me: “Is it Mater?” (I knew it wasn’t Mater, but I couldn’t think of any other names to guess).
Dominick: “noooooooooooo, Mommy. I think we better call Nana Kelley and ask her!”.

I think he’s right. Sadly, his mommy is not a Cars expert yet!!

Happy Birthday, Oma!

At Dominick's suggestion, I am baking a birthday cake to celebrate what would have been Jeff's mom's (and my dear MIL's) 63rd birthday today. Happy Birthday, Oma! We are going to take the kids out to dinner tonight to celebrate your life, and then come home and enjoy some Pineapple Upside Down Cake tonight in your honor :)

"Otay, Jen-fer"

me: "Kirsten, it's time to go brush your teeth."

Kirsten: "otay, Jen-fer." Followed by giggles.....first hers, then her brother's, then mine and Jeff's. She's a nut. Where does she get this stuff?????

Dall Sheep

Dominick's class has been studying artic animals for the past couple of weeks. As part of learning about arctic animals, each child in his class drew a name (of an arctic animal) out of hat to do a report on. Dominick's animal is the "Dall Sheep". His teacher gave him a blank 11 x 14 posterboard that we needed to fill with pictures and facts about Dall Sheep, and then Dominick would have to use the posterboard to do a presentation to the rest of his class. I decided to take Dominick to the library to get started on the project. Jeff questioned this idea, and thought that using the internet (at home) was a much better approach. "But, it will be fun, and we'll find everything we need to finish the project. And I can teach him how to use the library for research". Wrong. After chasing Dominick and Kirsten around the libary for an hour, trying to keep them off of the computers, sitting (sort-of) through story-time, reminding them to talk quietly about 371 times, we left with ONE book with ONE measley picture of a Dall Sheep in it......AND then we went home and looked up everything we needed to know on the internet. I printed out a bunch of pictures and a map for him, typed up a fact-list, and cut out some letters on the Cricut. I handed him a glue stick and the pile of stuff we had, and after attempting to glue the first thing onto the poster, he decided he didn't like how sticky the glue stick made his fingers, so he quickly delegated the glueing to me, while he directed where to put everything. We didn't get it completely finished until Sunday, Jan 16, which was the day before his presentation. We had been practicing all of the information with him for a couple of weeks, though. We had him practice giving the presentation (with his posterboard) to us thoughout the entire day. At some point, he suggested that Jeff and I practice doing the presentation, too. So, Jeff and I each took a turn, and even Kirsten. She doesn't want to be left out of anything. She mainly just held the posted and said "Dawwwwwl Sheep" a few times, but it was very cute that she wanted to take a turn, too. On the big day, he did amazing. He was confident and excited, and he nailed it. Jeff and I both went to his classroom to watch him. We were so proud of him! I took the below video....he was so excited to get started that I missed him saying, "hi, my name is Dominick.....". The volume is REALLY quiet on this for some reason (I think because I did it on my regular camera vs. the video camera). So, make sure your volume is turned all the way up on your computer :)

11 in 2011

11 in 2011 (ie: New Year's Resolutions)
1. FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY lose the last 20 pounds that I gained during my pregnancy with Dominick. It's been over four years, and it's starting to drive me a bit (okay, a lot) crazy. Ok, I guess it really hasn' been over four years, not if you count that fact that I got pregnant and had Kirsten in that time period. But still. It's been too long.
2. Date night once a month (with each other, minus the kiddos). We have so much fun together when we do this. We have an awesome babysitter. We really have no excuse not to make this one happen.
3. Go on a fun, family trip every quarter. Just a long weekend will do. Just something to do together, away from our house, where we get bogged down in laundry, cooking, cleaning, DVR, work, errands, and all sorts of other time-consuming stuff. Possible options for this year: New Mexico to visit Jeff's dad, Chattanooga, an Indoor Waterpark, Center Hill Lake, Dunbar Cave State Park, Jack Daniels Distillery.
4. Blog at least once a week. I have been keeping this blog (ie: my e-scrapbook) for awhile, but am not great at keeping up with it. And that's an understatement. I am especially not great at posting actual posts. I have like 952 drafts created that just need a picture, or period, or exclamation point, or some minor thing added to them and they would be finished.. I know I am going to regret it if I don't, uh, finish all of those drafts, and then actually keep up with it at the same time......so I am going to do better. I have been telling myself this daily for over 2 years now, so we'll see how it goes this time around. Maybe I should grade myself on this list in order to actually make some progress? Or actually share this blog with someone so that I am more motivated to keep up with it?
5. Start making my own laundry soap. It's easy (so I've heard). It's less expensive (or so I've heard). It's better for you and the environment (I've also heard). All this hearsay cannot be wrong.
6. Shop, Cook, and Eat healthier (this is for all four of us). I think that our kids eat fairly well. The older they get, however, the worse they get. They are fairly open to trying new things, and eat a pretty wide variety of fruits and vegetables, but there's definitely room for improvement. I want to squeeze more nutrients into their diets (and ours), and incorporate more 'real' ingredients into my cooking and less processed ones. When Kirsten started on milk, we transitioned to organic (because of all of the hormonal effects I have read about that milk has on girls), eggs, chicken, and some produce, but I know we should increase this.
6a. Use a CSA or grow an organic vegetable garden. See #6 above.
6b. Begin buying organic beef from a local farmer. See #6 above.
6c. Do the 7-day detox from therawdivas.com. This is for Jeff and I, and I have him 80% convinced to do it with me. He may, however, no longer agree to it once he sees that name of the website, though. Yep, see #6 above.
7. Move Kirsten's bedroom upstairs. Dominick has been asking for this for awhile, so we just need to make the time to make it happen.
8. Visit Jeff's sister, brother-in-law, and niece in Alaska. We miss them, it's gorgeous there, and last time, they let us bunk with them for free for the week. Why wouldn't we go?
9. Organize and de-clutter our house. First stop: containerstore.com. Second stop: try to convince Jeff to build me a craft room.
10. Go see Kenny Chesney in concert. We try to do this every year. Or every year that he is on tour, which is every year every since I can remember except last year. LOVE. THAT. GUY.
11. Go on a long weekend trip somewhere…..anywhere (just Jeff and I). We did one in Sept 2009 and Jan 2010 (both for weddings), and we enjoyed them so much. This one and the Kenny Chesney one may be knocked out together….if Ticketmaster and Grandma & Grandpa cooperate with us, that is.....and if someone will get engaged, set a date for this year, and then invite us to their wedding :)