Trying to Enjoy the Weather

*Warning - these pics are un-edited and straight from my phone.  I was so mad I left the camera at home!*

Since the weather was nice again today I really wanted to take advantage of it and spend a little while at the park.  My plan was supposed to go like this.  Have Noelle rest while I showered, get her up to pack toy's and other stuff to keep her busy at the Klette house, pick up a Starbucks and head to the park about 2:45.  Well wouldn't you know that Noelle actually FELL ASLEEP during rest time.  She hasn't done that at home in a good year or more.  She will sleep at school a couple times a week, but NEVER at home.  I ended up waking her at 3:20 so we could get to the school in time for when Adam was released.  (We were late, of course.  Thank goodness Adam could care less and just played at the park till we got there.  He is so great!)  Aside from letting the kids play at the park I really wanted to get the dog out and let him run around.  As soon as we got there Adam took Shadow and they ran the heck out of each other.  Shadow is always hesitant to leave me, but once he gets far enough away he has a great time.

The kids LOVE this silly gator!

He was still going even after giving Shadow back to me.

There were a couple dogs who were being allowed to run around loose on the school field.  I think he was jealous, but I only believe in allowing him off leash at home and at a dog park.

LOL!  This baby swing was low enough to the ground that she could get in and out on her own.  She thought it was great fun.  

What a weirdo!

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Couldn't have said it better myself!

January Cub Scout Pack Meeting

Adam had his monthly pack meeting last night.  He earned 3 belt loops, 3 pins, and an arrow point this month!

Chess, Video Games, and Skateboarding 

Since Uncle Derrick helped Adam earn the Skateboarding belt loop and pin we invited him to the meeting.

Thanks Uncle Derrick!!

The Pinewood Derby is coming up in a couple weeks.  Adam built a mouse car and is very excited for the race!  Noelle also build a car to race and is excited to get to participate.  Lily and I will be sitting on the sidelines watching the fun.  

Also, just a couple weeks after the Pinewood Derby will be the Blue and Gold.  This year the boys will be making a camping/cowboy camp scene from LEGO bricks inside a shoe box.  I'm excited to see what they all come up with.  Oh, they are getting to go to Skate City for the Blue and Gold.  Adam and Noelle have never been on skates, of any sort, before.  Justin is awful on skates and I haven't been on anything since long before Adam was born.  Should be interesting.  LOL!!

Appreciation of Quietness

I finished my second book for From Left to Write!  The Art of Hearing Heartbeats really made me think about how much I value and appreciate quiet now that I have kids of my own.  Early in my days of working as a Nanny I ALWAYS had music on in the background.  I enjoyed the beats and rhythms and believed it was good for the kids to hear.  That whole subconscious learning thing, right?  That has really changed now that I live with noise from children nearly 24/7.  There are still days when I enjoy having background noise from music, but more often than not I really just want pure quiet when there are no kids around to make noise.

Feeling that way I can't imagine what it would be like to depend so highly on my hearing for everyday living.  Tin Win lost his sight as a child and then had to depend on his sense of hearing (and touch) to navigate the world around him.  We are talking super sensitive hearing here.  He can tell who is entering a room based on their heartbeat or the sound of their steps.  He even hears insects.  Yuck!  I don't think I could handle all that.  I really don't need to hear a spider spinning up it's dinner, do you?  Now don't get me wrong, I DO appreciate that I can hear.  I can't imagine not hearing my children's voices or a favorite song on the radio.  I just don't want it to go any further than that.

I think this book gave me a new appreciation for both my sense of hearing and sight.  My eyes allow me to see the world around me, especially my husband and children, and my ears let me enjoy the sounds of my kids singing and chattering away.  I would be completely lost without such things in my life.



When Julia travels to Burma to search for her missing lawyer father, she discovers much more than she expected. Join From Left to Write on February 1 as we discuss The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker. As a member of From Left to Write, I received a copy of the book. All opinions are my own.

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At the Snowman Soup Social

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She says she is going to beat herself at Pentago.

It is a possibility since she beat me at the first round.

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Reason number, oh hell, I lost count a long time ago, why I am over being pregnant.

That people is my left upper thigh/hip area.  Yes, I have what can nearly be called bed sores from sleeping on my left side every single night for like 7 months straight.  It creates a circle and practically has a bruise in the middle.  I just keep reminding myself that I only have a max of 5 more nights of sleeping on my left side to go.  

(Sorry if the pic is a little TMI.)

Noelle's Birthday Day

We had a very low key celebration on Noelle's birthday, even though it was a big day in our house.  Not only was it her 5th Birthday, but it was also my last day of work before maternity leave and her last day of daycare until I go back to work.

I made some dairy free cookies for her class at school.  She is one of I think three kids in her class of 12 that is allergic to dairy.  There is also one egg allergy, but I can't get around that one with cookies.  I had a few S'mores favors left over from her party so I made a few more to equal 12 and we took those to give to her classmates as well.

I'll admit that we had NO CLUE what to give her.  Then Justin thought about giving her a Nerf shield and dagger.  Perfect!  They are always fighting over Adam's Nerf stuff.

She was VERY excited!  Noelle, Adam, and Justin had a HUGE Nerf family war.  I sat on the couch and took pictures and video, LOL!

She chose chicken nuggets, fries, and edamame for her dinner.  The we had cupcakes!

Justin decorated a few of them into cute penguins!

Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Friday night she got the last of her birthday gifts in the mail from NJ.  She got 3 very cute, and much needed, outfits, some Dr. Seuss reading flash cards, and the book One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish.  

Thanks Mama M and Papa Greg!!

This shirt has zebra print pants that go with it.  (She had a zebra print outfit from her birthday last year too.)  She officially has a zoo outfit again.  Awesome!!

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Edible Snowman

I'm not sure what is going on with the top of it's head, LOL!!

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Noelle with her new Nerf shield and dagger she got for her birthday!!

Happy 5th Birthday Noelle Justin Allen!

It's hard to believe my baby girl is 5 years old today!!  

2 days old

1 year

2 years

3 years

4 years

5 years

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Snow White the Chef

Every once in a while she truly surprises me and is very girly.

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Finally asleep

I asked Noelle if she slept during nap time at school and she said yes.  I then asked why she won't do that at home.  She says she doesn't like her bed.  I rather grumpily told her it is a great bed and there is nothing wrong with it.  (I wish MINE were so comfy!)  Can someone please explain to me how a vinyl mat with crib sheet placed on the hard floor can be more comfortable than an actual bed with a pillow?!

Last night, after Merle left from fixing the furnace, Justin and I wanted to try to watch an episode of Big Love.  Noelle was having a really hard time going to bed though.  She wouldn't stay in her room and kept going back and forth with the whole "I want Mommy" and "I want Daddy" thing.  I'll admit she was all revved up from Uncle Merle's visit and really wanted to stay up with us.  But, I was already annoyed with her behavior from earlier in the evening at dinner and was done with her.  Plus, she had already gotten to stay up a half hour later than normal.  We finally just went downstairs and started the show and fully ignored her.  The above picture is what we came upstairs to an hour later.  I did make Justin put her into her bed.  I just don't believe she is going to get very restful sleep on her floor.

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Furnace

I spent my last day at home with NO KIDS freezing my butt off.  The furnace decided to stop blowing warm air overnight into Monday.  Ugh.  I am thankful I was home to know that there was a problem.  Otherwise it would have been a very cold Monday evening and overnight into Tuesday.  My brother, Merle, who owns Mayberry Maintenance, was able to come over Monday evening and fix the furnace.  Turns out it needs a REALLY good cleaning, which he will do sometime in the next month.  He did a quick clean of a prong that was actually causing the problem and we now have a warm house again.  YEAH!!

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Noelle reading Hop on Pop to Mommy and Shadow

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Belt Rack

Adam had a Cub Scout Den Meeting today.  He made a belt rack that can hold 4 belts.  He was VERY proud of himself.  He and Justin will stain it before it gets put up in his room.

Magic Science

Believe it or not, Adam got gifts for Christmas too!!  LOL!  We finally got around to this tonight:

He chose to make crystals for the magic wand.

First you add the blue tablet to water.  This was supposed to be done in the test tube.  Oops.

Then the red tablet.  Look at that!  It's purple now!!  LOVE the look on Noelle's face.  Adam knows all about primary and secondary colors, but Noelle is still learning.

Next, you let it sit for an hour.  Then, like magic, you have squishy purple crystals to fill your magic wand with!

The kids had fun and BOTH were begging to do more.  

Mommy was ready for bedtime though, it's been a busy day.

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Snow Cones

The kids and I enjoyed grape snow cones for snack this afternoon.  So yummy!!

Awesome Christmas and Birthday Gifts

Noelle got a few really fun gifts for Christmas and her birthday.

She LOVES cotton candy and Grandpa Ron has been buying it for her often since baseball season last summer.  Enter this:

It is super easy to use and clean.  Also, you can make any flavor your heart desires so long as they sell a hard candy in that flavor.

We haven't actually gotten around to trying this one out yet, but I think we will do it this weekend.  If you are a girl chances are you had a version of this growing up.  

She got this one for her birthday and we tried it out that night.  Let me tell you, as a pregnant woman who is always hot it really hit the spot!!  Do you think they would allow us to bring it for labor and delivery?!?!  It is also really easy to use.  I'm pretty sure it will get a TON of use this summer.  I love that I won't be buying nearly the amount of popsicles I usually would.

I think the snow cone maker and cotton candy machine are going to get a lot of use for birthday parties and pretty much any other event held at our house.  Hey, she could even earn money selling to the neighborhood kids, and adults!

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Red Solstice

Justin and I found these and Target and fell in love with them.  They were on clearance and we picked up 2 sets.  It feels really nice to have pretty dishes again.  Our old ones had been with us for 10 years.  They are nice and a great brand, but we were ready for something new.  Sometimes the simplest things in life can make you the happiest.

A Penguin Party

Last Saturday we piled about 30 of our friends and family into our tiny house to celebrate Noelle's 5th birthday.  Wow, what a turn out!!  Thank you to everyone that came and showered her with love, and presents!!  (And seriously, can I get a summer baby next time?)

When I asked her what character she liked right now she told me Penguins.  In hindsight I should have known this, she has been stuck on them since at least March of last year.  When I ask what she wants to see at the Zoo she ALWAYS says the penguins.  It seemed like a perfect theme, especially since I knew I could get decorations on clearance from Christmas time!  Woo-hoo!  I'm always up for saving a little money.  Anyway, I went with a Penguin, s'mores, and hot chocolate theme.  

Penguin cake!!  We barely had enough and actually I think, aside from J and I, there was one person who didn't get a piece.  Sorry!!  (Note to self, if there are going to be 30 plus people at a party you will need more than 1 box of cake mix.)  As always Justin did a great job decorating her cake!

 Penguin decor and s'mores favors!

I got the s'mores favor bag idea from Pinterest (love that site!!) and spent about half my scrap booking night Saturday making the tags.

My kids always make out like bandits in the present department.  She got some great clothes, a couple games, some books, and some art supplies!  Thanks everyone!

Aside from the 2 and under crowd (which added 3 more kiddos) I think this shows all the kids at her party.  I'm thinking next year it will be time to start doing separate parties like Adam does.  One for her friends/kids and then the family/adult party.  I know she would have loved to have a couple friends from school, but there just wouldn't have been room!!

Happy Birthday!

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She actually looks rather comfy don't you think?!  This is how I found her when I checked on her about 10pm.  We left her there.

This is how I found her when I turned her light on at 6:15 the next morning.