Sincerely Fro Me to You- Wierdos

Kaia loves to take some goofy photos. Here are a few she shot this summer, while we hammed it up for her.

It helped that she'd just finished dressing me with a pencil, broken beads, and a piece of the home depot playset for an earring.

I love Mo's face in this photo.

Dad had to get in on the craziness too.

The crazy couple.

Yes, my tank top says what you think it does. I happen to be wearing that top as I type. The bottom line is: Sometimes you don't.

For more fun photos you won't find in the scrapbook, check out We Are That Family!

Out of the kids' mouths

Mo after I put his DVD into the player: Good job mommy, you a good boy.. you a good girl.

Kaia while singing to her kids' christian songs CD: I will sing Papa Murphy's of the Lord forever, I will sing Papa Murphy's of the Lord.

Mo after Papa handed him the phone so he could talk to sissy: Hi Sweetheart!

Mo while helping me scoop cat litter: I help mommy. I a good helper.

Kaia to the school secretary: My teeth are gray and they won't be white again until I get new ones.

Tooth Update

The dentist visit is over. And Kaia did great. She was a little nervous, but was a good sport. They took some x-rays and found that the roots of the teeth are still intact, and there doesn't appear to be any damage to her permanent teeth. The teeth will continue to be gray and may even turn darker, because they are dead, the nerve is dead and there is some bruising and bleeding from the trauma to them. The dentist is going to leave them in, as her permanent teeth are probably a year away from coming in. We just have to watch for abcesses.

Thanks for all the support! I'm really not beating myself up over it. Kids do things like that, and I've never been one to worry to much over their owies. If they didn't get hurt, then they wouldn't be living life. I think kids should be kids, and that means some bumps and bruises along the way.

And, Danielle, thanks for the laugh! I know there are plenty of women who would say that and not be joking. There are also those that would say I lost out on any mother awards for weaning Kaia when she was 12 months old and Mo when he was 6 months. Luckily, my goal is to have happy, well-adjusted, creative and independent children. They may not give out awards for that, but the end result will be worth far more than any award!

Remember the teeth?

It wasn't long ago I told you of Kaia's fall on her front teeth. Remember how I said I thought she'd be ok?


I think I may have been wrong. Maybe you can't quite see that.


Her 2 front teeth are not only gray, but they are getting more gray every day.


She sees the dentist Tuesday morning. This just secures my non-placement in the Mom of the Year Award.

Our tenants

If you would like to take on something difficult, may I suggest trying to capture a photo of one of the mice that live under your deck? I have tried for months without luck. They see the camera and run.

Even more fun is trying to focus on the little buggers. There are nose prints from the cats on the inside of the glass, and water spots on the outside from the rain and snow. Our bedroom window and the laundry window both provide excellent viewing, as they are just inches above the ground. It's like a kitty picture show, and us humans enjoy watching too.

My persistence and patience finally paid off on Saturday. The photos are a bit fuzzy, as they are taken through the window.This little one spent a good hour or so coming around the window Saturday morning. I think it's adorable, but I love small furry creatures. We have learned to coexist. They stay outside, we stay inside. The dogs would love to get to them, but they know where to hide. The cats are hampered by the window, but they love the show.

What the kids did this weekend

1. Pulled all of my cooking utensils out of the drawer in the kitchen, and scattered them through the TV room. The pizza cutter was on the window sill, rubber scrapers on the floor, scissors in the doorway, and a rolling pin on the couch.
   
2. Made a "nest" of blankets and pillows in the middle of the TV room floor where Kaia promptly fell asleep.
3. Dumped all of the Fisher Price people out, and the art supplies too, on the first floor.
4. Destroyed the bed, after Dana had just finished making it.

And I wonder why I cannot keep the house clean.

Quick, Healthy and Cheap Breakfasts

I hear people say it all the time, "I don't have time to eat breakfast." Everyone knows how important breakfast is, it gives you a start for the day, and helps reduce calorie intake later. But do you know how quick, and cheap, it can be?

Eggs are the number 1 breakfast in our house. I buy Omega 3 eggs at Fiesta Foods. The price varies from $1.58 to $1.98 per dozen. They actually change the price with each shipment, and these eggs taste so much better than the white store brand variety.

I have an omlette sized non-stick pan that I use to cook most of our breakfasts in. It's quick and easy to wash, and usually stays on the stove.

Easy egg breakfasts:
Chop up some leftover fresh veggies (peppers, onions, broccoli, mushrooms...) and saute in a small non-stick pan for a minute. Turn heat to medium and add 1-2 beaten eggs. Let cook for a minute or two, and once the bottom begins to set, stir. Do this til the eggs are cooked. This is a fast and easy breakfast that allows you to use up leftovers. You could also add chopped baked or boiled potato, sausage or bacon.

Egg sandwiches are also easy to make. Either beat the egg first, or "fry" whole. With a non-stick pan, no oil is necessary. While the egg is cooking, toast 1 or 2 slices of bread, and cut a slice of cheese. As soon as the egg is done, assemble your sandwich.

If you have a little bit more time, Huevos Rancheros is easy to make in any quantity.

Oatmeal:
We eat oatmeal a few times a week. We don't eat boring bland oatmeal, I spice it up to make it fun.

Following the directions on the package, mix your oats and water. Then before cooking add cinnamon, chopped dried fruit (apricots, raisins, blueberries, cherries) or fresh chopped apple. Cook according to directions. After cooking add a little bit of brown sugar to taste and milk (condensed or fresh), if you choose to use powdered milk, I recommend adding it prior to cooking.

If the oatmeal isn't filling enough, serve it with an egg, or a slice of ham. I love to keep sliced ham (leftover from the whole ham we've had for dinner) in the freezer. It's easy to fry up, or microwave, and gives filling protein.

Muffins:
Hey, if you are really running behind, what could be better than grabbing a muffin on the way out the door? Make it the right muffin though. Those light and fluffy blueberry muffins don't have much in them but bleached flour and blueberries. Make some of your own muffins ahead of time, and freeze them individually. Or you can cook the batter in a loaf pan, and freeze the whole loaf, if your family will use it up.

Find a good recipe, and add to it. I mix whole wheat and white flour to get a light muffin that still has nutrition. I add fiber cereal to give them more bulk. Pumpkin from a can is a wonderful addition, and it can be purchased inexpensively during holiday sales, and after holiday clearance. Add any number of fruits to give your muffin variety and flavor. Last, muffins provide a great way to use the crushed cereal from the bottom of the bag. You can mix it in or throw it on top. All of these things makes for a heartier and tasty muffin.

Fruit:
When we have fresh fruit, we eat it with many of our breakfasts. The kids love bananas, and I can't keep them on the counter for more than 2 days. Apples, grapes, italian plums (like in the above photo) are all easy to add to your breakfast and give you some quick energy.

What are some of the breakfasts you serve your family?

Sincerely 'Fro Me to You Christmas

Sure, it's a little late for Christmas, but I still haven't sent out Christmas cards, so why not?

Here it is, Christmas in the 80's. Need I say more? Look at that hair... It's awful. Why I wanted hair like that, and why my mom agreed... Feel free to add some insight Mom. I'm sure it was my own stubborness. Just like the dress. Dress shopping with me was a nightmare. I was never a flowery girl, and wasn't big on lacey stuff either. Now try to find girls dresses in the 1980's that weren't either of those, it wasn't easy.

To see more photos that won't go in the scrapbook, head over to Kristen's at We Are THAT Family.

A sign of the times...

I never thought I'd look at my mutual fund statement and say, "I only lost about $1000 this quarter." Yet, two quarters ago I said just that, and thought it wasn't too bad.



Yesterday, I got my statement from last quarter. And, hey, I only lost around $2000. I'm beginning to wonder if maybe my employer should just throw the contributions in the shredder instead? At least then, no one else is getting rich off what should be my retirement.



On the bright side I have approximately 35 years til I retire, maybe more. Plenty of time to recoup.

This Little...

This little kiddie went to sleep underneath sissy's vanity again. First time was just a few short minutes. Second time he was out by dinner time. Unlike Sunday, he woke up at 7:30 p.m. and kept me up til 11 p.m.

Taken shortly before he crashed.

This little kitty fell asleep in the shelved closet downstairs. When I shut the door, I was under the assumption that if any cat were in there, they would meow to be let out shortly. You know what they say about assuming...

Somewhere around 4 a.m. I realized I hadn't seen my footwarmer in bed (aka Callie). She hadn't meowed though. At 5:30 a.m. when I opened the door, I realized she'd been too busy pushing boxes and vases from the shelves until they rested against the door. So when I opened it, things came crashing down. Thankfully nothing crashed onto my grandma's dinner service that is boxed on the bottom. She was so excited to be out, she ran all over the house.

This tired mommy cleaned Kaia's room (with her help) all day yesterday. This was after cleaning the other rooms in the house Saturday. I also managed some baking this weekend, and attended a baby shower. I'm officially exhausted!

Note to Self...

When you are dishing up dinner, check first to see if your younger child is even awake and has plans to eat dinner. Even though it is only 6:30 p.m., you may find him fast asleep under your older child's vanity. The same place where he chose to nap just the day before and you snapped some cute photos (which woke him up for a bit).

Later when that child wakes up and decides to go back to sleep in your bed, make sure you move him before going to bed. Otherwise in the middle of the night, your husband will be mad as he is being pummeled by a future NFL kicker's feet. Then you will have to wake up, put child to bed, and may end up having an argument with your husband. And during said argument, when you are both exhausted and upset with being awake at 3 a.m. you may open your big mouth and call him something stupid and mean like "drama queen" before going back to bed.

Next time, put the kids to bed first, then go to sleep. Not only will all of you sleep better, you won't feel terrible in the morning for the argument the night before.

I'm sorry, Sweetie.

That was so much fun

We had so much fun on our trip to Seattle, we're going to do it again in February. Ok not really, it was nice to have a night alone, but spending a day at the eye clinic, that wasn't fun. Especially for Dana. He had to be seen by an assistant, then meet with the doctor. Have 2 different rounds of photographs of his eyes, and then go back in to see the doctor. Even worse, the doctor put in two blocks, but Dana still felt and saw everything. The good news is, that in February, the doctor will use a different type of block on the other eye, and that should take care of the pain.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers! Please continue to pray that his left eye heals well. There is a chance (25%) of some complications, and that would require full-blown surgery. I am the eternal optimist and point out to Dana it's only a 25% chance. My poor pessimistic husband just looked at me like I had two heads. How he's survived me this long, I'll never know.

My big accomplishment: I drove home. Did you read that? I drove us home! In Seattle. I drove in Seattle. We both lived to tell about it. I even made it through the tunnels that have the lights that make me sick.

For those of you that haven't been to Seattle, the driving is insane over there. The roads are all thrown together haphazard so no matter how good of a map or directions, you will have to turn around at least once. And the people driving are out for blood. Their time is more important than anything else in the entire world! And don't even think about parking a crew cab truck in Seattle. It was nearly impossible. So we were both happy to be back home, on the East side of the Cascades, where life is a bit calmer, and rednecks in pickup trucks can park.

Thanks again for all your prayers!

An Interesting Question

Kaia told me on the drive to school yesterday morning, that she wanted to be rich. "Don't you want to be rich mom?" "No," I answered, "I just want to have my bills paid off." She thought about this for a bit. Then she asked, "How much money do you need to be rich?"

Ahh, how do I answer such an ambiguous question to a 5 year old? More importantly, how do I help her see life is not all about money. I answered thoughtfully, "It isn't how much money you have that makes you rich. It's how much money you spend." Realizing that was a little too philosophical for a 5 year old, I clarified by saying, "Someone could have lots and lots of money, but if they are always spending that money and spending more than they have, they will never be rich. But, someone could have less money, and if they didn't spend very much, they could be considered rich."

The answer satisfied her, but how about you? What do you think?

Catching up!

If Jennifer were the kind of girl to tag, she would have tagged me for this meme. So now that I have a book near me, and not a huge stack of data entry... well that huge stack of data entry is still hanging around, but there is a book too... here is my meme. The rules are to grab the closest book, find the fifth sentence on page 46, and write that sentence plus 2- 5 more sentences.

So from Randy Alcorn's Edge of Eternity: I got up and stumbled from that suffocating room, knocking over a stool. I was not going to eat with this man. There was something wild and savage about him. He was an explosion waiting to happen, an untamed beast. I saw a storm in his eyes, and I did not want another storm.

I'd say that this is an awesome book and recommend everyone read it, but I have yet to finish it. I tried to read it when I first bought it, back when it came out. It is one of those surreal books where a man is stuck between heaven and hell, and he can see and hear and taste both. I've picked it up again, and have made it farther this time than before. I am very much a bookworm, and Dana would LOVE it, if I wore stockings and garter while reading.

For all of my bloggy friends, I am reading your posts, mostly in my reader and haven't been able to comment much recently. Things are a little crazy here! This week we will travel to Seattle for what we hope is Dana's last eye surgery. It wasn't what either of us wanted, but the Dr. left no choice. He simply stated that Dana is too young to lose his eye, and we needed to get over there ASAP.

We are blessed with abundant help. Kaia will be staying with one of her "grandma's" from church. This will be new for her, but I think she'll do fine. Mo will stay with Grammy and Papa. And my mom generously helped us out with the hotel cost. So please pray for safe travel and a successful surgery! I'll try to stop in and say hi to each of you very soon!

Just Another Owie at the Kihn's

Kaia would smile for you, but her swollen upper lip makes it hard. Last night was her date night with daddy. It didn't end well when she fell on the stairs in the play area of McDonald's last night and hit her teeth.


There was some bleeding around her gums last night. And she was in hysterics when I left my meeting to go home and see the damage and comfort her. We don't think there was any serious damage done, and she's off to school today, with a swollen lip and some sore teeth.


She was really hoping that they would fall out and she could have a visit from the tooth fairy. I'm sure that will come soon enough.

Get me to work on time!

You know that lovely weather I was mooning over yesterday? Maybe you've looked at the news lately? While our city is still beautiful and warm, it has created a nightmare for well, most of the state!

If you live here in Yakima or Kittitas County, don't plan on leaving. That is unless you want to go to Oregon, because that's the only place we can drive to. The rivers are right up against the roads, and avalanches and mudslides have closed all the passes, except the one going down to Oregon. Colder weather is coming though. I imagine the passes will open again, only to be closed due to snow. It's the way it works up here. There is nothing like the Northwest in the winter!

Yesterday, I talked to my co-workers regarding the Kaia issue. The I'm always late because I can't get a 5 year old moving issue. That's when the VP told me what he tells his kids. The first money he makes at work is toy money. So if he's late, he can't make any toy money. This morning, I told Kaia, "The first money I make at work is toy and movie money. If I'm late, I don't make it, and we won't have money for toys and movies." I didn't think she'd get it, but she did. She actually got ready. She even asked several times, if we were late and was I going to be able to make some toy money today?

Sleeping in bed all night? Check
Getting ready in the morning? We're getting there!

Thankful

I am so thankful today for the Chinook winds. They are blowing up from the Southern Pacific and bringing us warm weather and sunshine. We are expecting a high in the lower 50's today and it is wonderful! Now all of you in the Seattle area are probably hating this system because of the buckets of rain, but those of us in Central Washington are thoroughly enjoying the mild weather.

That was the entire post in my head this morning, but on my way to work, I found something else to be thankful for. I am so thankful that my inlaws are alive and well this morning! Their fish tank caught on fire, and by the grace of God it happened this morning when they were both awake. They were able to put it out on their own, and the only damage done is a need for a new tank. (the fish are all fine)

I had a grumpy morning trying to get the kids out of the house on time, and I failed at that miserably. But with the fresh warm air, and the knowledge of what might have been, I'm feeling pretty good about today!

I should have had my camera

On Saturday evening, we went to a new steakhouse in town for dinner to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday. Much of the Mexican theme from the prior restaurant was still there, but they had added some faux stone statuary.

After dinner, Mo walked up to check out one of the statues. He was awed at a statue of a woman holding a water jug. She also happened to be topless. I watched as he continued to look at her up and down.

Then I knew what was going to happen, but had no way to capture it. Mo reached up with one hand and fondled her breasts!

There is no doubt he's a boy!

Why

Why is it that I only get sick when my house is a mess? If I always kept it clean and tidy, would I stay healthy?

Why is it that I like ska music, but on my Christian Stadium Jams cd the ska song is one of the few I don't care for, and it is Kaia and Mo's favorite?

Why did I get an A in my college math class that covered algebra and calculus, but when I answered a meme about what I was doing 10 years ago, I gave you my life 11 years ago?
10 years ago...
1. I was living with my parents. (this was still true)
2. I was working at a horrible part time job in service dispatch. (actually I was a barista and server at a coffee house and I loved it)
3. I was dating a guy I thought I loved. (I was dating my husband, not the other guy)
4. I was taking night classes at the community college. (yes, I was)
5. I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up (this one was true too)

Hope you are all enjoying the New Year! I think I will try to be cleaner and healthier, learn to love the ska song, and use the brain that earned me my degree.