'Trimming' the Hair

Kherington's hair was getting a long.  Long enough that it dips into her food.  Lot of kids have long hair and it works for them.  Kherington hates having her hair brushed and we constantly have fights over ponytails or headbands...she needs one or the other with long hair.  Anyways, I convinced her to let me trim her hair a little.  At least that's what I had planned on doing.

I got her setup in the bathroom with Little Mermaid playing on the laptop and started cutting.  My first go around I took off a little.  Then I notice she had her head tilted to the side.  I asked her to keep it straight and started 'fixing' it.  Well, after a could go around of going shorter and shorter, I decided that close enough was what I need to go for if I wanted her to keep any hair.

It actually turned out pretty cute.  Oh and part way through the process she started asking why Ariel got to have long hair and she couldn't.  In the end she loved the haircut.  I look and it and see choppy layer spots and an uneven length but all in all it is pretty cute on her AND she doesn't need a ponytail or headband for it to stay out of her face.

I NEED Warm Weather

Yesterday there were little snow flurries when I walked Kherington to school.  I wasn't even wearing a jacket because it didn't look like it was that cold outside.  I was kind of bitter that it started snowing again.  I mean it's mid-march!

Well, today I woke up and I was supposed to go for a 4 mile run...I looked outside to find that it had snowed a couple inches.  UGH.  I am so ready for some warm weather.  I'm not talking hot I'm talking like mid 50's.  That would feel so warm right now.

At least the kids are having fun.  I didn't have Kherington go to school today so that she would be able to play in the snow.  Currently I'm thinking that was a big mistake.  The two munchkins have been fighting all morning.

Two Mom's, 5 Kids

Ryan L. and her kids made the trip from Fontainebleau, France to visit.  It was perfect timing.  She asked if she could come a couple days earlier than originally planned (her husband was studying for his finals), then Ryan came home from work the day before she got her and told me 'busy season' started the next day so we wouldn't be seeing much of him.

I had an awesome time.  It is amazing how much more enjoyable it is to have another adult around.  I felt like I'd been off lately and the weather had been cold and gray which makes having a positive happy outlook much more difficult, so I was in definite need of some easy friend filled days.

 The first day we just chilled.  We opened the doors and let the kids run wild in our backyard.  We were both amazed when we got to 6pm and neither of us were annoyed with our kids (that never happens).

The second day we made a trip over for Aachen, Germany.  We got some groceries (mainly almonds, spelt flour and oats) and a kebab and headed home.  The kids did great....it also helps that German people are friendly and thought our kids were cute.

I hadn't had these Kebabs for a couple months so I was pretty excited for them.  I now order 2, let the kids eat what they want and I get the rest.  Both of them at at least half the kebab...that's a ton! 

Most of the nights, after dinner we threw the kids in the tub for bath.   This must have been one of the first night because after that we decided a max of 3 in the tub worked the best :).

Saturday we had an extra set of hands with Ryan around. I went for a long run (9 miles) in the morning  and when I walked in, Ryan L. was cooking breakfast for the kids.  Kind of awesome.  After getting everyone ready, we walked to the bakery for some delicious pastries. Yummy! I love cream filled things. We hung out the rest of the day. Ryan L. and I made a deal that if she stayed longer, Ryan and I had to go on a date...pretty sweet trade on our part. So we did. We left her with 5 kids and took the bus downtown to a little Italian restaurant.  After dinner we didn't really know what to so we went for a walk and ended up walking 4 miles home.

Sunday we made it out the door to church on-time and the kids look adorable.  They hadn't planned on being her for a Sunday but we managed to get all the kids Sunday clothes from Kevin and Kherington's stash.  The kids even did good sitting through Sacrament meeting.  We came home to a delicious pasta lunch that Ryan L. prepared the night before while we were on our date. 

Monday was another awesome day.  In the evening the kids were running around with some superman caps that I'd made a couple years ago.  Lily and Jay liked them so much, Ryan L. and I decided to make some with some leftover supplies I had.  It took us until about 1am to finish them off.  It is so nice to have someone to do this kind of thing with. 

Tuesday and Wednesday were definitely a little more rough.  It really wasn't that bad, but kids stopped taking good naps which made them more cranky and us more cranky...and Kevin became very possessive of everything and went from one kid to next taking toys, pushing and hitting. At least we kept the nice weather.  

Tuesday we spent the morning running errands (hardware store and ikea) to be able to fix the smoke detectors and holes in the wall.  Ryan L. was amazing and filled all the holes we've made.  They now look awesome.  I smile every time I look around the room.  We also cleaned the house.  My landlord was coming by with someone that was appraising the property so I wanted to make sure it looked  good.

We went to the park a couple times which was a hit and also walked up to a cheap craftish store.  After the store, we were going to be late picking up Kherington so we ended up running the last quarter mile or so.  I had Kevin on my shoulders with a sucker in one had and a bouquet of eggs in the other hitting me with both as he bounced up and down and Ryan L. was pushing double stroller with two kids piled on top of each other in the front and one in the rear.  We must have been a pretty funny sight.  We made it just in time.  Wednesday's all the kids/teachers leave so if you're late they take the kids over to a different school which is another 15 minute walk away.  They locked the gate right behind us.  Whew!

Stefan took the train to Brussels and then public to our place.  He walked in the door a couple minutes before I walked out to teach Faith in God.  I once again left all the kids home (Ryan had to go to the Church too).  Yeah...we really got the better end of everything.  It was so so nice to have a friend to do everything with.  I'm hoping they'll come visit again soon.

We've also decided it would be awesome to live on a cul-de-sac with a couple of our good friends.  Our husbands all get along (kinda funny...they are all pretty easy going guys that get along with everyone), the kids could roam from one house to the next and we would always have other adults to chat with at any time of day.  One day :).

Just like when we went to visit Fontainebleau, after everyone left the kids were exhausted.  They had way too much fun and can't wait to do it again :).

Gaasbeek Castle w/ Daddy

We headed over to chocolate Neuhaus chocolate outlet since we hadn't been in awhile. After a generous helping of chocolates, we took Ryan to Gaasbeek Castle.  We had been a couple times, but never with Ryan.  Some day we'll go on a nice day with a picnic and explore more of the grounds.

I LOVE Nutella

Well, Kevin Love's Nutella :)

I used to keep it in the low cupboard...after him getting into it twice while I was out of the room I've relocated it to the high cupboard.

Valentines Day 2013

The night before Valentine's Day Ryan and I finished decorating.  We heart attacked the front room, door and hallway.  The best thing about a small place is that it is quick and easy to decorate.

We spent the afternoon at a friends house.  The kids hadn't gotten together for a long time so it was extra fun.  They did a little craft...painted a plate then attached tissue paper contact paper that covered a heart cutout.

We had parmesan tilapia, butter rice, broccoli and stuffed mushrooms for dinner then ended up skipping dessert because I didn't have time to make anything.  Kherington did help me make lemon raspberry muffins the next day though.

Potty Training...When did he get so BIG?!

Kevin I know has been growing tons.  There seems to be no baby left in him.

Just for kicks, I took his measurement today.  He is 32 inches tall and weighs 25 pounds (roughly).

I decided that now would be a good time to potty train since we don't have any trips planned for awhile.  Week 1 is done.  I had errands to run and still put a diaper him whenever we went out.  We had lots of accidents but also lots of success.  By Friday he finally caught onto making himself pee and recognizing when he needed to poo BEFORE actually going.  I feel like that is kind of huge especially for a almost 22 month old boy.

To potty train, I just rolled up our rug in the front room and ta-da, we are carpet free (well minus a small train rug in the kids room).  If he goes potty in the toilet he gets 3 chocolate chips and he gets to give 3 to Kherington.  If he wets on himself or the ground, I put him on the potty and have him try and go more while I get it cleaned up.  Aside from a 'we need to remember to put our pee pee in the potty' there isn't anymore scolding.

There have been 2 really bad accidents.  The first one he was playing and only wearing pj pants...no undies, no diaper.  He pooed and kept playing.  I noticed the smell and went to inspect.  In the middle of his toys a big chunk had fallen down his pants.  The rest was still smashed in there which made changing him pretty gross.  The second one was was the same day.  He had a diaper on for naptime.  No big deal.  Well, he was napping in our bed.  Pooed while he was asleep, then took it off as soon as he woke up and make a poo trail across our bed (on my side) to come get me.  On the bright side, he came right to me, told me he pooed and waited a good 10 minutes while I finished up getting dinner ready before I could wipe him down (I didn't know at the time there was a poo trail waiting for me on my bed).

He loves his cars undies.  Sadly I only bought one pack at Costco and the rest are just blue/green pattern undies.  Here is his just playing...lining up cars and dancing around them.