Nostalgia

Just going through some old pictures.... Honestly, how cute are these two kids?

Zoie and Caleb celebrating their 1st birthday, 3rd birthday, and 5th birthday together.

Birthday Princess

Zoie celebrated her 5th birthday this week... and I really do mean the whole week. We just wrapped up birthday party #4 a few hours ago.

She just eats up the whole "birthday girl" thing-- to the point of extreme obnoxiousness. But every time I tell someone how much she enjoys being the birthday girl and center of attention, their next comment is inevitably something like, "wonder where she gets that from" or "must be hereditary". Growing up, birthdays were a BIG DEAL and I guess I just want to carry that on with my kids.

So here is the dilemma: making a grand gesture for the birthday without the hassle of a big, loud party with loads of screaming kids and unnecessary gifts. (I sound like a Scrooge-- don't I?)

Solution- step by step:

1. Big breakfast of choice (in this case, chocolate chip pancakes)2. Open one present-- a birthday outfit (a pink Princess and the Frog get-up)3. Take cupcakes into preschool class and sing Happy Birthday4. Have a lunch with friends (more cupcakes, more singing)5. Throw a family party/ barbecue (homemade cake and really cool presents) 6. Next day-- meet some family friends at Chick-fil-A (more cake, singing, and LOTS of playing)And voila! A very happy (and well-fed) little Princess

What Separates Us From The Animals

Several years ago, Lance and I put forth much effort mocking some friends for the use of these "standards of low-class trash"--even the definition I found online mentions both the south and Nascar (see below).

A coozy is an insulated holder for keeping drinks cool (typically beer or soda) and your hand warm . A coozy can typically be found in the south, often adorned by Nascar numbers, funny sayings, or advertisers.

However, we found that when we did not employ the use of these "neoprene miracles", our hands were cold and our sodas were warm.

And now when offered a cold soda without a coozy we protest- "What were we raised in-- a barn?" We have even made a habit of bringing our own coozies to get-togethers with "non-coozy folk."

So, I know this picture doesn't exactly help our case of coozies not being trashy, but at least his hands are warm! (Don't worry-- it was Lance's unopened can).

Judge if you must... but don't knock it til you try it. (They even work great for water bottles!)

Boys and Girls Night

Last night Lance and his friends took all the boys (ages 2 to 6) to this:

I know what you are thinking-- the height of class and civility. But what little boy wouldn't love to watch a big truck jump over less-big trucks? Tobin loved all the time with the boys. Because if it were up to Lance no one would ever take pictures of anything anywhere, we have no photographic evidence of the outing.

In an effort to help the girls cope with the loss of their dads and brothers for the night, we pronounced January 23rd, 2010 "Princess Night".

Together, we (3 Moms, 5 little girls, and 3 babies) ate dinner, dressed up in our finest royal attire, watched a Barbie movie, painted each others' nails and took pictures. The girls were in Heaven. There were princess dresses everywhere.

Although the picture shows 3 Cinderellas, throughout the evening each girl took turns being Snow White, Ariel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Tinkerbell (who I am fairly certain is not a part of the royal family... but we are not snobs).

And I ate entirely too much of the best dessert ever. (Thanks Niki)

Food

I attempted to feed Chase rice cereal for the first time this morning. We had varying degrees of success. As is fairly typical with this kid, he experienced a wide range of emotions over the course of the "eating experiment".

The set-up:Happy about all the food and attention:

Happiness gives way to annoyance:

Annoyance quickly turns into exhaustion and anger:

I think the rice cereal (all 2 teaspoons he actually kept in), knocked him out:

Final White Flag

In a house with only two bathrooms, the kids' bath generally doubles for the guest bath. This is the case in our home. When we moved into out home in 2005, we decorated in dark red and a coca-cola theme. And now with a house full of kids, I once again succumb to the inevitable.

Here are some before and after pictures:

And what would a room makeover be without another Kira original?

Thanks to Jen and Ryder for the Monkey decor!

Stay tuned for next week's post: Lance and Kira transform Master Bedroom into Dora and Diego

All You Need Is Love

Ok- so I know the title is a bit cheesy. I thought it appropriate to use a Beatles song title and it was either this or "I Am The Walrus"-- which is funny... but kind of mean (even for me).

Chase is 4 months old today...

Pet Peeve

I found a brand new rug on Ebay that is perfect for our play room.
Tobin loves cars and trains and the rug enables him to "drive" his various transportation vehicles all around the "carpet town". I totally low-balled the seller and surprisingly won the auction. The rug arrived this morning and I was so happy! It is in perfect condition and, indeed, looks brand new. Tobin already loves it. He and his best friend, Riley have been playing on it all morning.

Problem: When I released the rug from its plastic wrapping, I was overcome with the odious scent of cigarette smoke. I thought that perhaps it was just the smell of the odd plastic wrapping. Just in case-- I doused the rug in Febreeze (almost a whole bottle) and wouldn't let the kids play on it until it dried.

It has been about an hour and I am fairly certain that my entire home now reeks of smoke. I am the queen of air freshners, air sanitizers, scented candles, candle warmers and Scentsy. Even still- my head is pounding and my stomach is churning from the smell of that rug. It is a curse that has come upon this house.

Attention smokers: I think smoking is a disgusting and deadly habit. But whatever-- its none of my business. Please be advised, however, that if you choose to smoke cigarettes- you may never attempt to sell anything you have ever owned. Do not re-sell your home, your car, or any of y0ur earthly posessions. They are tainted forever. This one small rug has overrun almost 2,000 sq feet of clean air in our home.

I am taking this rug to be dry cleaned, but fear the worst: the cute little play rug that looks perfect in the play room has been contaminated beyond repair. If trained professionals cannot clear the rug of its loathsome odor, I will have no choice but to destroy it immediately-- I cannot curse another human with this plagued item.

Resemblance

I was going through some old pictures yesterday and I came across some pictures of Zoie when she was Chase's age. I couldn't believe how much they look alike. They are all "Rasmussen"-- with pale skin and blue eyes.

It will be hard for me to prove to those who live long distance that they do, in fact, look alike. Here is why:

Zoie is and always has been very photogenic. We have hundreds of really cute pictures of her as a baby.Chase, on the other hand... well-- here is an example of a typical picture of Chase:

Chase is a sweet and cute little baby. He is not actually cross-eyed. He is not as odd and lumpy as his pictures suggest. He just takes after his Mama-- I don't photograph well (or maybe I am just deluding myself... I can't really be that chubby, right??)

There really is a strong family resemblance between Chase and Zoie.

Chase and Tobin on the other hand... not so much.

GlamRockabillies

(GlamRockabillies is the name of our band on RockBand)

Lance told me yesterday that when I play RockBand, I seem to think I'm "really performing or something". I took that as a compliment. What girl hasn't dreamed of being in a band? Its like this game was made just for me and my childhood dream.

And so-- if you are going to come play with the GlamRockabillies, you best be bringing your "A-game".

Case in point-

The "Dream Team"

January 1, 2010 1:48 am1.1 million points on a single song

Rock On!

Kiranardo Da Vinci

I can not draw. I can not paint. This is not me being humble or modest or even self-deprecating. It is an actual fact. I do not have an artistic bone in my body. I am okay with it.

As I mentioned previously, I am obsessed with the kids' play room. I wanted to make it look like an intentional play room-- as opposed to an empty room that just happened to get filled up with toys.

I began shopping, both in person and online for the perfect prints for the walls. I wanted something childlike and simple. Since the toy buckets are primary colors, the new prints would have to match (I have noticed that pink/ brown and baby blue/ brown combos are en vogue).

I found these on ebay and fell in love.

What I did not fall in love with was the price. So... I, like a woman on fire, proceeded to (attempt to) recreate the same prints with some blank canvases and acrylic paints that Lance (our true resident artist) had lying around.

They are not fabulous. I did not discover any deep-seeded talent that had been lying dormant. They are a bit more...um... "abstract" than I had intended. But it is only for a kids' play room and so-- they now hang on the wall.

Besides, if people ask-- maybe I can tell them that Zoie painted them.

Surrender

Zoie will be five at the end of the month-- meaning, Lance and I have been parents for nearly five years. Somehow it has taken us five years to accept that we have a "kid" house.

Looking around, all of our outlets have plastic stoppers in them. All of our breakables are up high and out of reach. We finally gave up our last rights to this home a few weeks ago when we converted our dining room into a play room.

I really loved having a separate dining room, but it was unreasonable to have two kids and ALL the toys in the house in one room. So we gave up.

Our "office" area (pictured below with Lance and Collin) has been demolished. It is now the site of our new dining area (pictured below).

Here are some pictures of the new play room. I really do love it. I think I might be just a tad bit obsessed with it. I seem to enjoy it more than the kids. I am constantly straightening up, organizing, and rearranging in there. It is perfect for our situation right now. During the week, we have four young kids at home-- and on the weekends, up to eight kids at our home.

Maybe in ten years, I can have it back...