Ice Cream

The girls and I were bored last night so we painted some things I had bought a few months ago and forgotten about.  Kasi painted these two.  One is an ice cream cone (on the right) and one is a sundae cup (on the left). We still have a few more things to paint, too.  Maybe if we get the Christmas tree up early enough tonight we'll paint some more.  I still have to do the kids ornaments for this year.

Career Fair

This coming Tuesday, my two oldest kids are going to a career fair through the school.  It is an after school field trip, which also includes supper at a local pizza place.  I am excited for them to speak to professionals who can give them details about the ups and downs of selecting certain careers.  I am sure they will come home with all kinds of information, from which courses to take for a particular career to and real estate business cards.   I would think that if any of these kids make an impression on one of the speakers, they might be able to line up a job for the future, or at least get a business card to keep in contact.

My problem is going to be picking the kids up.  They are both due to be back to their schools at the same time, and I can't be in two places at once.  One of them is going to have to wait, and I have a feeling it's going to be Ryan.  He's already suggesting that he walk to the public library to wait on us, and I may just let him.

Know Your Breasts!

In honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I changed my profile picture on Facebook pink.  As someone who has had breast issues in the past, I know how scary it can be when something is wrong with your body.  Recently, I have been reading reports that say self breast exams are no longer encouraged because they haven't been shown to make a difference.  I completely disagree with that.  I think every woman should know her breasts, that way she can tell if there is something wrong.  And make sure you get your mammograms.  As much as I feared having one done, it really wasn't that bad.  If you are really afraid, take a friend with you.  Just make sure you get it done.  We all know that the best chance at beating Breast cancer is finding it early.

Kasi's 2010 Ornament

I painted this one purple, because just like me, that is her favorite color.  I think I need to do her name and the date in white instead of black.  The black kind of blends in, and I want the name and date to stand out.  What do you think?

Fashion

For her birthday, Kasi got a really cool book about fashion.  It came with lots of different patterned paper and accessories like pom poms and fur, and Kasi uses these to make her own "fashions".  She absolutely loves it!  (thanks Missy!)  This is one of her most recent creations, and I love it!  She is now asking for a sewing machine and real fabric to make it for real.  I think I might have a future fashion designer in my house.

Me And Kasi

We took this picture last weekend while we were waiting for the fireworks to start.  Kasi just told me I look "soooo tired".  It seems like I have been soooo tired all Summer.  I think it's the heat, and the swimming, and everything else going on.  Maybe once the kids go back to school, I can get more rest.

Kasi's Going Blond

Kasi has been after me forever to put some highlights in her hair.  A lot of her friends have them, but I was still hesitant, because she is only, or was only, 12.  She turned 13 recently.

I was trying to remember how old I was when I first started coloring my hair, and I don't think I was much older than she is now.  So the other day we were in the store, and she asked again if I would highlight her hair.  This time, I agreed.

What we disagreed on was what color highlights.  She wanted purple, and I said no way.  Then she said red, and I was kind of okay with that, as long as it was a natural looking red and not a red red.  She wanted the red red.  We finally agreed that for now, I would do regular blond highlights, and maybe when she gets a little older, she can experiment with brighter colors.

It's nice to compromise.  I hope the rest of her teen aged years go this smoothly.

Parties

 I spent today making food and cleaning house for Kasi's birthday parties that are coming up this weekend.  Tomorrow night is her slumber party, and then Sunday I am having my mom and a couple of family friends over.  We were originally going to have it at my mom's house, (she has the pool) but the weather isn't going to cooperate, so I'm just going to do it here.  That means that I will clean the house for one party, and then turn around and re-clean it for the next party. 

My kids better appreciate this.

As I was cleaning today, I started thinking about Ryan's birthday.  For the past three years, we have done a Halloween themed party for him since his birthday is the first week of November.  This year, he is going to be 15, and I am worried that he won't want to have a party.  I hope that is not the case, because I love getting the kids dressed up, and having all the kids who come to the party get dressed up.  My little nephew used to love Elmo, and I found the cutest Sesame Street Costumes online at www.costumekingdom.com that he would flip over.  I don't think he would wear them himself, but he has a new little sister who would look adorable in this costume:

I mean, what kid wouldn't look adorable in that?

Celebrating A Little Early

Since I am going to be out of town Friday, which is Kasi's 13th birthday, we celebrated a little early.  She has been hinting around that she wanted a cookie cake, so yesterday we got her one.  The picture doesn't do it justice...it really was a very pretty purple (which is her favorite color), but for some reason, purple never photographs well.  The important thing was that she loved it, and she enjoyed eating it.  Junior has some other special things planned for her on Friday, so I know she will have a great birthday even if I'm not here.

Part Smurf?

A guy that works with Junior gave Ryan a bed for his room. It is a bunk bed, with a twin on the top, and a full on the bottom. It came complete with mattresses, which is awesome. The only thing it cost Junior is doing a tune up on the guys car.

Not a bad deal.

The only thing is that the bed is metal, painted blue, which Ryan hates. He wants it black. So last weekend, him and Kasi started sanding off the blue paint so he can spray paint it black. As you can see, Kasi got a little one her face.

When she came in the house, I told her she looked like she was part Smurf. She looked at me like I had lost my mind, then shook her head and walked away.

I guess I kind of dated myself, and she had no idea what I was talking about. But, I hear there is a Smurf movie in the works, so maybe when it comes out, she will understand what I said.

Sliding

My girls.

So beautiful.

Yes, I may be biases, but it is what it is.

It's my right as a parent to think my girls are the most beautiful girls in the world.

And I do.

Kasi's Banana Bread

Yesterday, Kasi decided she wanted to make some banana bread. I had very ripe bananas and a recipe, so I told her to go for it.

Things didn't turn out very well. I think she might have forgotten some key ingredients. The recipe called for both baking powder and baking soda, and I think she left one, if not both, of those ingredients out. As you can see, the bread kind of fell in the middle.

It tasted pretty good, though, so that was a plus, but I think next time, I might offer a little help.

A Cookie Cell

Kais had to do a project for science class, and she had several options. She could choose between a written report, a power point, or an edible creation. Of course, she chose the edible one. She told me last week that she wanted to make cookies. All she had to do was draw a cell on the top of a sugar cookie with icing. Sounded easy enough.

Until the night before last, when she showed me the picture of the cell she needed to draw. It was insanely intricate, and there was no way she would be able to draw it on one cookie.

So Junior helped her figure out how to make a 3D version using several different sizes and colors of cookies. I have to admit, it came out pretty awesome.

She took it to school today, and came home proud of the 100 she received on it. As usual, I am so proud of her!

Kasi's Elephant

My dad and his wife gave Kasi a drawing book for Christmas. It is pretty neat. It gives step by step instructions to drawing some pretty cool things. Of course, as soon as she saw the elephant, she thought of her mom. Such a sweet kid! I think she did a phenomenal job on it, too. She loves to draw, and I think she has a talent for it.

Butterfly By Kasi

Here's another magnet from Kasi.

You can't see it too good, but the wings are light blue.

I really hate that I bought these to be gifts, because I want to keep them for myself.

I wonder what Junior will have the kids do for me this year? Maybe if I drop enough hints, he will figure out i want some of these magnets painted by the kids.

Flower By Kasi

So what do you think?

Looks like it was painted by a two year old, right?

Nah, I'm just kidding! The girls were given some magnets to paint as Christmas gifts, and this was the last one Kasi did. I think she was pretty much done with painting by the time she got to this one.

I love the crazy eyes, though. They are SOOOO Kasi! lol!

I've Been Shopping

I bought this bracelet for Kasi last week as a Christmas present. I am happy to say that all the "girls" I have already bought for, I have bought home made off of etsy.

I bought myself a black and silver "memory" bracelet for myself a few months ago, and Kasi loved it. She keeps begging me to let her wear it to school.

Um, no. She has a tendency to lose/break things. So, Santa will bring her this cute pink and purple one. It's more suited for a 12 year old than mine is. I found this in trinitygrace's etsy shop. This bracelet was $4, and that includes shipping.

I hope Kasi loves it!

I Started Christmas Shopping

Kasi is at that age where she wants to own nice jewelry. I think I was about her age when I got my first "real" piece of jewelry, so I have been on the lookout for something nice, but not too expensive, just in case she looses it.

So, I was so excited when I found this ring in rogersearthworksetsy shop . It is totally girly and also elegant. I thought it would be perfect for Kasi. I was ready to cringe as I looked for the price, and couldn't believe my eyes! Are you ready?

$1.50 + $2.50 s&h = $4 total!

Holy crap! I was so excited! It's silver plated, which is perfect for her. I ordered it, and can't wait to get it. I think she is going to love it. I wish my nieces were older, because they had all different types for the same price. I could have knocked out a bunch of shopping.

Fun With Playdough

I was cleaning out the girls closet this afternoon, and found a tote filled with playdough. It didn't take them long to start making things, and letting their imaginations get the best of them.

I love this! It's a mom and dad swimming in a round river (notice the orange bridge) with their baby relaxing on the center grass island. You can't really see it, but their is a blue duck swimming in the water in the lower right corner.

I have more pictures of their other creations coming soon.

Bad Movies

Kasi and I have been watching movies together. She likes scary movies, so we have been watching all the scary movies we can find. The last two we watched were horrible.
Now, I love a good scary movie, too. But there is a fine line between a good, bloody gory movie, and stupidity. I think I watched this movie, Valentine, alone, because it has Denise Richards in it, and she has a tendency to get naked. I was surprised to see Katherine Heigl in it. I love her, but they killed her off in the first five minutes, which was disappointing. (don't worry...I didn't give anything away with that). I don't know how I made it through the whole movie, because the acting was horrific. If I never see another movie with Denise Richards I will die happy girl. No one got naked, so I told Kasi she could watch it if she wanted to, but that it wasn't worth her time. She chose not to watch.

Smart girl.
We watched Midnight Movie together, and this one was okay. I did know any of the actors in it, although the "leading lady" Rebekah Brandes, looked familiar. The premise of the movie is that the killer of an old black and white film comes out of the screen to kill people. It was an idea we hadn't seen before, so it was interesting in that effect. There were a couple of adult moments that Kasi didn't seem to pick up on, but I wouldn't recommend this to movie for kids. Had I watched it first, she probably wouldn't have been allowed to see it.

Good parenting, huh?