Kyla's big accomplishment...FINALLY!

I swear we have been working on this for about a year now. Trying to build Kyla's confidence up enough for her to realize she can do the monkey bars. Well tonight she did it! As soon as she finished she said "Wow! I feel very confident now. Almost like I can do anything. Do you think that is how a superhero feels?"

Silly Jaspur....

Looking like there is nothing wrong with it.

He is actually sleeping with his head in there.

So my crazy cat Jaspur has a shoe fetish. He absolutely loves this one pair of my shoes and tries to move it around the house and lays in it. It is so very strange. Today I caught him in the act.

Dinner and Wii....

Last weekend we had Grandma and Grandpa over for some yummy Tortilla Soup (thanks for the recipe Jen)and Wii. Everyone enjoyed a little bowling and skiing.

Happy Birthday Grandma Kay!!

Grandma Kay,
We love you because...
Jill: I just love her. That's all I have to say. But I love her house. All the purses and dolls and books. I love Grandma Kay!

Kyla: I love her because her dolls are really fun and we get to go on fun adventures with her. I love going to the zoo with her. I love playing in her backyard and we have so much fun with her. I love you Grandma Kay.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!
We hope you have a great day! Love you!

**pics are not loading for us today but we will add some later.

Beach Party Bingo...

Kyla had her first school dance tonight. WOW! Crazy fun! It was a Beach Party theme and we had a great turnout. Jill got right in the mix and Kyla enjoyed herself once she got used to the noise and large crowd. I have a feeling we have lots more of these in our future!

BFF...

Cookie of the week...

This week we waited until Kyla got home so she could help. We are still playing with the flour ratio. Cookies turned out yummy!! When I get a recipe perfected I will share. Promise.

Ted and his girls....

Ted reading to the girls last night. Notice the 3rd one. Sweet.

Words of Wisdom...

I read this this morning and it really struck a cord with me especially with raising young kids.

The living example is better than the communicated word.

Kyla sings...

More Rock Band Carlson Style...

Rock Band Carlson Style...

Funny by the ol' spicy one...

***I just realized this was my 300th post. Yea for me and Life up North!!!***

We spend a lot of time hosting our own talent shows with lots of made up songs. For those of you who know Ted this comes as no surprise as he is the master of made up songs. Hence Circular Motion. Last night Jill came up with a very interesting one. It went something like this....
"When I am 18 I won't need my Momma and Daddy. But I am only 3 so I just sit in my room and pet my dog and cat. Someday I will be old like you but now I am 3."

This morning Jill asked for some more cereal. Her exact words were "Mom, can a have a snifter more cereal? Just a snifter please."

Where does she come up with this stuff? Hmmm...sounds a lot like Ted.

Then there is Jill's most famous quote...."I won't be sillified by the likes of you."

Hot Stuff....

Birthday celebration...

Today we helped our friend and neighbor Billy celebrate his 6th Birthday! So much fun. It was at the bouncey house wharehouse and the kids had a blast. We are so lucky to have such great friends and neighbors here. Happy Birthday Billy!

Week in review...

We had a week full of playdates, birthday parties and lots of time outdoors. We also had a week of sunny days. And now the rain has returned with snow in the forecast. What a tease!

sidewalk chalk art

Kyla and her friend Miss M.

Jill and her buddy Brady

Cookie of the week...

Today Jill and I made the traditional Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe with just a few modifications. First we used Milk Choc/Peanut Butter swirl chips, added a cup of oatmeal and used a bit of whole wheat flour instead of all white flour. The cookies turned out delish! Jill is a master egg cracker. 10 points for the person who gets a bite of the shell!

The Wii...

The entire family is enjoying the Wii. Ted and I are not big Video game players so I was surprised to see how much we enjoy the Wii. Jill is a master bowler and Kyla has set records in the ski jump. Highly recommend it. Love it! The pictures below are of the girls preparing for the ski jump.

The Zoo...

The one thing the girls and myself miss the most about living in Seattle is the Zoo. We were frequent visitors and miss it terribly. Ted and the girls spent the weekend with his parents and were treated to a day at the Zoo. I was home hosting a girl's weekend with some of my good friends. Pretty great weekend for everyone I'd say!

That mom....

So I am going to be that mom. The mom that is self-righteous, judgemental and very annoyed. If your kids are sick, and I am not talking about a little runny nose or a mild cough, I am talking about a fever, a hacking cough and a green snotty nose, DO NOT LET YOUR CHILD GO TO SCHOOL! It is preschool for God sakes. They aren't going to flunk out or even miss anything by staying home. This child today was begging to go home. Told her mom she didn't feel well, was hanging on her leg but her mom still had her stay. And if you are that preschool teacher....Don't be afraid to tell the parents that the child is too sick to be at school. Whatever happened to common sense or even common courtesy? Baffled. And annoyed. That is how I am feeling.

Jill's eyes...

We had Jill's big eye appt yesterday. She goes in every 8 weeks for exams but has her big eye exam once a year where they dialate and check her prescription. Jill did GREAT! She is such a trouper. The magic eyes drops don't even phase her anymore. I can't believe she has had her glasses for 2 years now. The exam results were very positive. While Jill is still extremely far-sighted her prescription stayed the same. This is very good news. She is also using her bi-focals correctly and without any effort which is also great news. She has good, but not great depth perception and can see in 3-D. More great news. She even gets to take 2 months off from patching to see if her eyes continue to progress. When we go back in June they will check to see if we have to start patching again. All in all, a very positive appt and we are so grateful we have such a great doctor and have been so proactive with Jill's vision issues.

I will use the opportunity again to tell anyone who will listen to take your children to an opthomalogist and have their vision checked. You should take them in as early as a year old. That is when Jill started wearing glasses. The well-child exams with their pediatrician is not enough. If you do not have vision insurance most places will bill your medical insurance and that usually covers most of the exam. I cannot stress enough how important this is. You can do so much in those early years and vision is not something you want to neglect.

Baking cookies...

Wednesdays are usually a quiet stay at home day for us. I usually let Jill pick an activity that we can do together while Kyla is at school. Somedays it is going to get a smoothie, somedays it is coloring or doing puzzles, but most days she wants to bake cookies. I got her this apron and hat for Valentine's Day. Isn't she adorable? Today we made chocolate cookies with vanilla chips. Messy and fun. I love this time with Jill. I just want to eat her up along with all those cookies.

Baker Jill...

*Picture of the Day*

Money lesson....

Kyla finding her books.

Jill searching for the perfect one.


Jill making sure she had enough and having a hard time parting with it.

Kyla counting her money.

Kyla has discovered a series of books called Rainbow Magic. The first series is about rainbow fairies who were trapped by Jack Frost and need to be found in order to bring color back to Fairyland. Each book is about a fairy that represent a color in the rainbow. The books are not available at the library so I told Kyla in order to buy the last 3 (we already read the first 4) she needed to use her own money. She was thrilled and Jill of course wanted to join in. Though Jill had a harder time parting with her coin. It was a fun and informative afternoon learning about the different types of money and the amounts of each coin and then purchasing the books themselves. Maybe it's time to start an allowance for Kyla???

Rollerskating Queens...

Sunday we hit the roller rink for some family fun time. It started off a little sketchy but we ended up having a great time. It took me a few laps before I had my legs about me but once I got it I felt 10 years old again. The girls did really well for their first attempt. We did have lots of falls to the bums and Jill's skates weighed more than her. When she sat a the table to rest she had to put up her legs because the weight of the skates were pulling her knees out of socket. All worth it though. We will definitely be doing this again. Lot's of fun and great exercise!