The Story of Tonight

Okay, let me preface this story by saying, Tim left for China last Sunday and will be gone for 2 weeks.  So... I've been a single Momma to my two precious toddlers all week.  And this week has been my first week back to school, my car battery died so I had to find a way to get it to the dealership (I mean, what if it was the alternator?) and then a way to pick it up when in fact, it WAS just the battery.  Needless to say, with all that crazy going on this week, I just didn't get to spend the quality time with Kennedy and Graham that I wanted too.  And we were all missing our days of summer when we spent all day together.

Friday night with nothing to do but dinner and a bath, we had lots of time to relax and have fun!  Life was good until bath time...

Kennedy was fighting me, she did NOT want to get out of the bathtub.  So I got her wet and slippery little self out of the tub and she was fussing because she wanted to "refill the fish" (her squirt toy) and I really didn't want to get her semi-dried body wet again.  Then she started fussing because SHE wanted to put the lotion on herself, and push the pump to get the lotion out.  Fine.  So I let her do her thing and got Graham out of the tub (by the way, he came out easy as could be and let me dry him off and do the lotion thing...)  In the meantime, when I tried to use the lotion for G, Kennedy pulled it back and hit herself in the face with it, so she started really crying then!  Calmed her down, then got her ready to put on her pjs.  No "Kinny do it!" when I tried to help her put on her panties.  Sigh.  Fine.  Then she started crying because she wanted my help.  Sigh. Okay.  Then she started fussing because I wanted to help her put on her pj pants.  "NO, KINNY DO IT!"  Sigh.  Okay, fine.  Then she had trouble so she started wining because she needed help again.  SIGH.  Okay, no problem.  All the while, poor Graham was doing great getting his pjs on by himself- good thing or he would have been a popsicle by the time I'd gotten to him to get him dressed!

Finally get back downstairs just in time for Tim to call, and the kids were so excited!  While we were chatting with Daddy, Kennedy let me know,  "Mommy, my pants are wet!"  Sure enough, she had peed a little in her panties.  So we got her a night diaper (almost time for bed at this point anyway) but "No, mommy!  I go peepee on the potty!"  okay, fine.  She can go by herself, so I let her go in while Graham and I talked to Tim.  Literally a minute later Kennedy came in and said "Mommy, it's all wet!"  Huh?  Kennedy had tried to "clean" her toilet and spilled some on the floor.  SIGH.  So we put her diaper on and she went off to look for her my little pony.  Graham and I were telling Daddy how he was being such a good boy while I put his diaper on.  Then, a crash.  Crap, Tim we'd better get off the phone!  I ran into the bathroom where the source of the crash originated- there was water ALL OVER THE FLOOR!  Ummm....  Kennedy had decided to clean the floor and filled the potty bucket up with water from the sink- this kid must have filled it all the way up.  I mean water. ev. ery. where.  SIGH!  Of course at this point my Kennedy girl was a hot mess, water/pee all over her legs and crying hard.  And then I feel a little tap on my leg.  I looked down and Graham had the towel that was by the back door for the dog's feet.  "Here Mommy, I clean it."  Precious boy!

So we wipe up the mess, to be thoroughly cleaned up after the munchkins were in bed.  Drag Kennedy back to where the wipes are to give her an impromptu bath and she is really cranked up now.  I mean, sobbing hard.  I felt bad for her, but I was so frustrated too!  Got her cleaned up and pj pants on and she kept crying for her Minny and JoJo dolls.  I told her "Kennedy, if you're so crabby and going to keep crying, why don't you just go up to bed?!?"  (don't judge...)

In the smallest, most dejected, hiccup-crying voice she said "o-o-okay" and picked up her dolls and headed for the stairs.  Well, I felt like the worst Mom in the world!  "Oh Kinny, I'm sorry.  You don't have to go to bed."  So we cuddled for a few minutes.  Poor girl!  Poor mommy.  Sweet Graham.

A little later, we were getting ready to head up to bed, and I noticed the tv remote was not in it's spot.  Uummmm.... crap.  So we went on a scavenger hunt for the stupid thing.  We. Looked. Everywhere!   Couldn't find it.  Graham decided it was probably upstairs, so we went upstairs instead to look for the remote, snuggle in bed , sing songs and read a book.  Kennedy went to bed first, then I walked Graham in his room to put him to bed while Graham was "looking".  Then it as time for G to head to bed- with a new book and truck he'd picked up on his remote hunt  ::eyeroll::  We climbed into his bed and I asked him "Graham, do you know where the remote is?"  (he's very good at hiding things in obscure places, it wouldn't be beyond my scope of imagination that he had put it away).  "yep, it's downstairs."  Right.  Get in bed, G.  Then I asked him "Graham Michael, what am I going to do with you guys?!?"

"Um, take 'em back!"  I laughed so hard!  Then I told him I thought the 90 day return policy was expired and I was stuck with them.  But that's okay, they were stuck with me too.  "Yeah Mommy, stick with us!"  I will Boogaboo, I will!

Moral of the story, my kids are adorable- even when they are being stinkers, crabby or tired. :)

p.s.  after looking all over for the remote- I mean tearing through drawers and toys and bags and anywhere else you could imagine, I decided to give up and go clean the bathroom floor.  There it was, on top of the toilet paper holder!?!?  Not sure about how it got there (though I have my suspicions) but I'm glad I found it!  I really didn't want to watch Disney channel for the next week.

Our Trip to the Zoo

Introducing- Kennedy's BIG GIRL room!

Welcome to our big girl's room!  Does this wreath look familiar?  It was one of my first projects of the summer (it doesn't seem that long ago... where did summer go?!?!)  I've been working all summer on getting Kennedy's big girl room finished- and I'M DONE!  well, don't hold me to it.

Anyway, come on in!

remember the curtains I made for the nursery?  I put so much love and time into them, they are never coming down, EVER!  :)  So I wanted to incorporate more purples and pinks and purple and purple into her room, but keep the yellows and greens that were already there.  

Kennedy loves her tree!  I made it with vinyl- I drew a tree on a huge piece of butcher paper as a stencil and then cut it out of the vinyl.  The flowers are via our most amazing Cricut.  (what would I do without it?  I shudder to think about it!)

the flowers are actually 3-dimensional, the petals are coming out of the wall!  I absolutely love the way they turned out!  

Just another angle :)  You can see her toddler bed, which will eventually become a full bed when she's ready.  Insert purple Lindsay butterfly quilt from Pottery Barn here.  But for now she's using the precious baby quilt her Grandma Cleda made for her.  

Oh, I love this little girl's room!

I got some of these ideas from Pinterest, of course!  But as always, I put my own flair to it :)

Love the shadow box idea- buttons for the body of the butterfly!

I made the frame- it has a clip at the top so we can switch out pictures very easily!  And this is one of my favorite pictures of the kids together- it's so sweet!  And I will make them sit on the couch together and look at it when they are fighting... just sayin'

I decided to make the frames all a little different, so Tim helped me "distress" this one.  Butterflies!

 And more butterflies!  These are made from paint chips I stole took from Home Depot

It's hanging on a curtain rod!  When she's a little older, I'll hang a beveled mirror for her, but this is a sweet touch and still looks little girl enough for her :)

These might be my favorite, and I'll keep them forever.  When Jill and Kinley visited earlier this summer we had a painting party and the girls made butterflies with their cute tootsies and hands.  They turned out PRECIOUS!  I'm in love. 

LOVE

I painted this pot and filled it with butterflies and flowers I've been collecting.  They make me think of Kennedy's great-grandmothers who also loved butterflies, and probably would have bought every butterfly they saw for her ;)  (I miss those sweet ladies like you wouldn't believe...)

 And then, I found these cute butterfly mirror decals at Target (woohoo!).  They are the perfect finishing touch!  

I'm sure Miss Kennedy Rae will want to do different things in her room as she gets older, but for now we both love it just the way it is.  And Graham and Daddy both really like it too :)

Twins playing lacrosse

They're going to be stellar players. They can already scoop and throw. Check out the one-handed action from Kennedy.

Comings and Goings Part 2- Aunt Jia and Kin

My very best girlfriend in the whole world, Jill (Jilly, Jilly Beans, Aunt Jia) lives all the way in Houston, Texas so we don't get to see each other very often.  We go way back- I mean all the way back to the playground in 5th grade!  But we have made it a point to visit each other once a year since she's been down there.  I love it, because I have been able to see her relationship with her husband Brad grow stronger and more beautiful, meet their adorable son Ethan and then a few years later their daughter Kinley.  And I know she'd say the same about getting to see me and my family.  Even though we don't get to see each other as often as we'd like (I mean, we wish we could be next door neighbors!  Or at least live in the same 'hood) when we do get together we totally take advantage of our time :)

This summer it was Jia's turn to come up to the Lou and visit us.  Last year she came up with an almost one-year-old Kinley and K and G loved her.  This past winter Kennedy and I flew down to visit and the girls were fast friends, so this trip Kinley came to visit again!  (and I'm a bad girl, I didn't get it into the blog.  I'll have to add some pictures later)  The kids were inseparable, except for when they were fighting over toys and sippy cups :)  It was so very precious, and made me wish we lived closer for yet another reason!


The girls flew in late Wednesday afternoon, and we got some Imo's pizza to celebrate our friends' visit.  It was the first time K and G ate pizza!  Thursday we chilled around the house, went for a long walk, and then my MOST AMAZING HUSBAND TIMOTHY MICHAEL took on babysitting all three munchkins so Jill and I could go to a Thirty-one consultants meeting together.  :)  Very cool (the meeting and the husband).  


Friday Tim was most amazing AGAIN and worked from home in the morning.  Once we were all up, we decided to make some Chocolate Muffins (see previous posts!) and the kids were happy to help again.  We got a chance to play outside in the pool before Tim took on the munchkins again so Jill and I could have some girl time.  We went to Jilly's Cupcake Bar... ah.ma.zing.  And then some shopping to work our lunch.  We're dangerous when we get together!  ;)

Umm, don't mind me- I'm concentrating on measuring.  Baking again, the kids sure had fun!

Kinley helping to make our chocolate muffins!

these kids had an absolute blast together.  They made a MESS!

:) 

I just love this girl!

and so do Graham and Kennedy!!

p.s. this was right before bed time and they were literally jumping off the walls- at least the padded fireplace!  Maybe it was the sugar from the cupcakes we brought back from Jilly's? 

two very sweet girls

Awwww!  Maybe future daughter in law?  Hmmmm...

Jump!

While they were in town we decided to do some crafts we found on Pinterest (are you shocked?)  We made butterflies (and messes!) with their hands and feet.  Aren't they adorable?!?  And the pictures are pretty cute too :) 

Kennedy was so proud!

Chillin' on the last day before we headed to the airport

Saturday was the girls' last day with us.  Tim was Mr. Incredible again and manned the house while Jill and I went to a Zumba class together.  It reminded me of old times when we used to dance together ::sigh::  After an amazing class, we headed home for lunch with my parents and grandpa.  They love Jill almost as much as I do, and they were really excited to meet Kinley!  The kids got some down time together before nap time and before the girls had to head home to their family.  

As soon as I dropped them off at the airport, I missed them so much.  But I cherish the time we DO get to spend together, and I'm already looking forward to the next time!  

Love you, English family!

Comings and Goings

Where to start?!?  We've been so very busy at the Horstmann house this summer, and we love it :)  Right after we celebrated Tim's birthday, Father's day rolled around.  I mean, the kids sang "Happy To You Daddy- YAY!!!" for over a week!  :)

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Yay!

Blowin' out the candles :) 

We love you Daddy! (gimme that cake!)

Right after Tim's birthday, sure enough Father's day rolled around!  Poor guy, he has to do a birthday-father's day celebration now.   I don't think he minds though.  Especially since he got a combined gift this year and we upgraded his grill.  Aren't you excited?!?  He picked it out, so I know he liked it- ha!  We got together with the Short family for breakfast and then home for a nap (zzzzzzzzz...) Then on to celebrate with the Horstmann clan.  Did I get any pictures of us celebrating Father's day? Nope, I'm apparently a slacker.  (but that's okay, because we didn't get pics on mother's day either.)  BUT, we were supposed to bring Kid Friendly Dessert for dinner so we made cupcakes.  Don't you know the kids were all in the middle of that one!  And yes, they licked the batter off the beaters again.  THAT'S THE BESTEST PART!  (egg free, so don't freak out, okay?)  So I didn't get pics of the actual Father's day celebrations but I did get a picture of the cupcakes.  I mean, wasn't that the best part of the day?  JK!!!  Kinda.  But not really.  ;)

Mmmmm!  Pink Lemonade cupcakes with Strawberry Whipped Cream icing

Go ahead, lick the icing- I know you want to.

These seriously were the most incredible cupcakes and perfect for a hot summer day.  They are our new favorite dessert.  I will share the recipe, I promise!  

And of course, because I'm a smart-a** (i know, you're shaking your head in disbelief!) I decided to make NON-Kid Friendly cupcakes as well :)

Margarita Cupcakes!  Oh. Emm. Gee!

Um, the kids did NOT get to lick this batter (it was all for Mommy!)

I mean, melt in your mouth, tangy refreshing for-adults-only deliciousness.  The alcohol bakes out, right?  Oh, who cares?  It's just one... maybe two... and then I'll lick the icing off the container.

These puppies are margarita cake- alcohol included- with margarita-flavored jello icing.  Sigh.  

I promise I'll share the recipe for this one too.  

Right after the week of Birthday/Father's Day Celebrations, Aunt Jia and Kin-ley came to town!  They really do deserve a whole blog all of their own though :)  

Happy Buhrday Daddy! YAY!

Like I said in the last post, this past week has been busy HECTIC!  But in a good way :)  We've had dance class, swim lessons, Daddy's birthday, softball, a Thirty-one Party for a good friend, and that's all before Father's Day rolled around!  WHEW!  But we definitely didn't forget about Tim's birthday.  Especially since his b-day was softball night and Thirty-one party night, we wanted to show him how happy we were he was born, so we did it BIG!  On his birthday, we snuck to the store and got stuff to make him TWO birthday cakes!  He'd requested carrot cake when we asked him what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday but we surprised him with cheese cake, too!  (those are probably his two very favorites ever...)  

Have you noticed yet that the kids like to help, especially when we're baking in the kitchen?  I don't have pictures of them actually baking this time, but I have pictures of them helping me "clean up"  

I remember when my Grandma Cleda used to let me lick the batter off the beaters when we were done, and it's still one of my favorite things to do when I bake.  I thought I'd start a new tradition with the kids- I think they like it :)