Tooo cute not to share!

January 31, 2008

It "bisappeared Papa, where'd it go?". This is a video my SIL took over thanksgiving. I had forgotten about it... she put it on a CD for us along with all the photo's she took and I was going through them this afternoon. ANYWAY... we were standing in line waiting to see Santa and a magician was entertaining us during our wait. He gave Max a ball then did his thing and.... POOF! it disappeared. Or as Max would say "bisappeared". And Max was NOT happy. He was already cold, tired and hungry (an evil combination for a 3 year old) and the ball disappearing sent him over the edge. So when we got home, and everyone ate, Mike started showing him magic tricks and made a peice of balled up paper disappear and reappear after counting to three. Here's the attempt Max made at the trick... unbelievably cute!

Marine Corps Museum

January 30, 2008

Over the weekend my wonderful, handsome husband took the kids away for about 4 hours while I went to have coffee with Colleen. It was FANTASTIC! We sat in the coffee shop for about an hour and a half talking (without any kids interrupting us!) and drinking coffee and/or hot chocolate. Afterwards I went to a hair salon and... got a brand new hairstyle! It's much shorter with lot's of layers giving me tons of body. As a matter of fact I had forgotten just how crazy my hair gets when cut and after the first wash I was a curly mess! But it was easily corrected with a blow drier. Best part is I cut my hair a couple inches shorter and my husband still loves it. Crazy, I know. So needless to say I left feeling much freshier and ready for another week with my overly active duo :o) Oh, sorry no photos yet. Maybe tonight I'll have Mike snap a photo.

Onto the museum:

Since Mike took the kids I have no idea what this picture is all about but I love the looks on their faces. Almost like Max has caught her in the act and Maggie, as usual, is playing innocent.

Max took this photo. I was impressed. Actually, I really like it. Hmmm, maybe the kid is a future photographer!

One of the museum displays. Looks life-like doesn't it? I may have to go back and check it out.

My climbers...

And runners...

My impression is they liked the displays but were far more interested in chasing each other. I think the cold weather has kept them in too long and they needed to expend some energy.

Renovations and Random Thoughts

January 20, 2007

JMAS classes have started for us. Well, Mike is required to go but my attendance is voluntary. They do, however, have some REALLY cool classes. For instance, I can take a class on Tues. about food presentation. You know, how to make an apple look like a swan, and such. There are also classes on fun things like napkin folding, how to make a seating chart, basic decorum... While all of the classes are interesting I do feel a bit like I'm running for Mrs. America. Seriously, I have a masters degree yet I'm taking class on folding napkins and which spoons to use! There are, of course, other classes on more serious and pertinent topics to living overseas and the job of an attache. But if I told you about THOSE classes I'd have to kill you - LOL! Seriously though, I wish I could relay all the fun stuff but I am not exactly the best at knowing what is common knowledge and when I'm supposed to keep my trap shut so you all will have to use your imaginations. However, any military wives should TOTALLY convince their husbands to get into the attache program because it sounds like a TON of fun. I mean really, what job could be bad when you get an entertaining budget!

So if you wonder why my posts are few and far between well, let's just say the attache classes, the Spanish classes and the renovations keep me busy enough for 3 of me! It's all good though and next year when I have a nanny and TONS of free time it will all have been worth it. Not to mention the ability to speak another language. Talk about a resume builder!

Now on the the renovations...

First is the long awaited bathroom. However I must note that my photographic skills escaped me on this one. The photos do NOT do the beauty of this bathroom justice. Special thanks also go to Margo and Jeff because they contributed the FABULOUS green marble on the floor and in the shower which, of course, were the inspirations for the rest of the bathroom. THANKS GUYS!!!!

Unfortunately my "before" photos are stuck on another computer. So imagine a pedestal sink, boring white 2x2 inch square tile and a frosted glass shower. Oh the walls were white too.

Please overlook the shade... it has been replaced and some nice choc. brown curtains have been hung. Also note the photo's, their are 3 framed identical. They are pics of the kids playing in the bath... sooo cute, if I do say so myself!
Better view of the marble floor. LOVE IT!
Shower - duh! Everyone REALLY likes the shower enclosure. It is clear glass with etchings like french doors. Really cool but oh so hard to photograph!
Shower with door open. So much better. The old shower leaked so bad we tons of water damage behind the old shower that had leaked into the hallway below!
Laundry area renovations. Okay so not much to see unless you saw the before! Used to be exposed brick and pipes all on the back wall with no storage. HUGE difference. Wouldn't have been so bad but this area is open to the rec room in the basement and therefore REALLY unsightly. The rest of the basement was finished so I have NO idea why no one ever did this part. Oh and the wall next to the washer wasn't there. There is a bathroom next to this with the back of a cheapo plastic shower that was acting as the wall.
NOT anymore! Yeah a REAL shower with REAL walls! Again, thanks to Margo and Jeff for the white subway tile. We added the black and it came out FANTASTIC!
This bath is small and under the stairway. You can tell how small it is in this photo. I am standing in the shower. See the small sink. Works though! And we don't really need the shower but their is a guest room in the basement so it does come in handy.

Last is a random photo in D.C. I LOVE this statue. It is outside Max's school. Kalyn, you really should come visit. The pictures you could take!

Oh, and Mike wanted me to mention that I told him to take this photo from this direction. Yes, this is his creation, but for some reason he keeps trying to give me credit. What a guy! This photo was one of the few chosen for superior quality. My guy is good huh!

Spanish

Okay, so on a scale from 0 to 4, 4 being a native speaker, I have risen to a level 2. Which I must say is disappointing. NOT because I am only a level 2 but because when I was a lowly 1 and explained the levels, and the fact that their hope was to get me to a level 2, I figured I would speak MUCH better than this by the time I earned that level. Oooooh scary out of control sentence! Does that make any sense? Anyone? So here is the situation. I can understand fairly well and speak in whole paragraphs only now I know soooo many verb tenses that it takes me a half an hour to say one stupid sentence if I want it to be grammatically correct. And pronouns, FORGET ABOUT IT!!! I do not think it is possible for any language to come up with a system MORE confusing than Spanish and it's dang pronouns! Did you know "he" can actually be either "le, lo or se" but "she" can also be "le, la, or se" AND nouns can be "lo, la, le or se". Excuse me WHAT? Heck I may not even have that correct! Oh and my fav is the order which is essentially "he her it gives" for "he gives it to her" translated, I think, "el le se da" or even "le se da" with the "el" understood. Somebody shoot me now! Hmmm, now that I look at it again it might be "el se le da". I can see ALOT of confusion in my future. Nanny "Michelle, Maggie fed the dog this morning" Me, "What, you fed Maggie to the dog!" Oh and one of my favs from class the other day. Instructor: "What did you and your friend eat for dinner?" Me (laughing): "Why did I eat my friend?"

Latte anyone?

Blogthings - What Does Your Latte Say About You?

I found this on JL's website and thought it was pretty funny. Hmmm, do you all think this sounds like me?

You are very decadent in all aspects of your life. You never scale back, and you always live large. You are a very frivolous person. You don't take anything too seriously. Why should you?
You have a good deal of energy, but you pace yourself. You never burn out too fast.
You're totally addicted to caffeine... but you like to pretend like you aren't!
You are responsible, mature, and truly an adult. You're occasionally playful, but you find it hard to be carefree.
You are expressive and friendly, but you are never pushy."

New Kitchen!!!!

January 8, 2008

FINALLY! I know it's been a while, believe me I KNOW. But the time has come for the unveiling...

First the BEFORE...

Now THE AFTER - YEAH!!!

We still need to clean the cabinets. They look ok in this photo but trust me, they are waaaaaay dirty. And we have new hardware and handles to put on.

Up close of the fancy back splash and nickel faucet. Note the granite counter tops. I know, totally amazing!
Brick walls before....Brick walls with custom built bead board after. The bricks still need a bit of cleaning though. But note the new crown molding and the fabulous way our carpenter framed out the archway.
Archway before... que nightmare!

And after, so pretty. This also shows the pass through we made in the old window opening with granite. Looks into the dining room. Makes a great side board for serving dishes. Please ignore the cable wires that need to be moved. Always one more detail...

Tomorrow I will post the upstairs bathroom. That truly is amazing. Every single person who has come by has spontaneously exclaimed, "wow", or "oh" or just sucked in their breath. I don't know if photos will do it justice but it really is an unbelievable transformation.

Capitol Hill's Arboretum

January 7, 2007

The post says the 7th but we really went last week and caught the tail end of the Christmas display. It was AMAZING! First a photo outside The Capitol with a big beautiful Christmas tree out front that looks teeeny tiny compared to the rest of the photo but really it was impressive up close and personal!

Outside they had a train display that was really cool. As you can see it was all made of wood and this too was gigantic with a fabulous wood bridge and tons of trains running at the same time so the kids were in awe.
Inside was SUPER warm and this we had to take off our jackets quickly after leaving this room and entering "The Rain forest".
But first I had to get at least one photo of a replica. There was one replica of each monument,
The Capitol, and the White House. VERY COOL. Each had it's own story of being made with this wood, or that gourd etc. The detail was unbelievable! If you're ever in DC for the holiday's this is a must see for adults and children alike. My kids LOVED it!
The jungle had the coolest flowers. I just had to take a few photos!
Just look at the dew drops!

Okay, I promise house pictures REALLY soon! Everything is "mostly" done but we keep having to shuffle the mess from the projects from one room to another and I CANNOT take a photo of my brand new room with a bunch of "stuff" distracting from the beauty. But soon - I promise!

So sad, don't read if your emotional!

I REALLY shouldn't suck you all into my madness and bring you down but I can't stop thinking of the kid written about below. He is 4 and has 3 brothers. His name is Julian and at the age of 3 was diagnosed with a brain tumor. They tried to fight it but lost. However the kid is still hanging on. I, for whatever morbid reason, cannot seem to stop checking his page EVERY STINKING DAY to see if he's still alive. How terrible is that? I must say I have followed him start to finish and really thought the kid was gonna live. So I think there is a part of me that is incredulous and keeps waiting for a miracle or for him finally to go to heaven. Oh so sad. My heart is broken for his family... Read on if you are strong enough.


247 January 04, 2008 at 08:39 AM CST
Good Morning CarePages fans! Julian didn't have such a good day yesterday.He slept ALL day and ALL night.The night before last he woke up about 2am with a fever and telling people to be quiet... We had a few visitors ,but he just kept on sleeping. Big Mama came back to us yesterday afternoon and brought Butterfly (our new puppy) with her. I think Ken didn't get much sleep!! I will post her picture later. I am just looking at Julian's beautiful face and I can't even think of anything to write...I am wondering why the little guy is holding on so much... What does he still have to achieve here that keeps him from flying with angels?Who does he still need to touch? I will leave you with this picture that says it all and breaks my heart. Good day... Mimi

PIZZA!!!

January 2, 2008



Today it is FREEZING outside! The temp is low, about 35 degrees, but the worst is the WIND!!!! Geez, I feel like I live in Chicago. So, we went to the building museum which was great fun. We got REALLY lucky with a parking space less than a block away. AND, just to remind me there are still good people in this world, a man kindly gave me 2 quarters for the meter. Before I left I knew I needed to grab some but just plain forgot and only had a $1 in change. Would have bought us an hour but really 2 hours was needed. Anywho, the building museum is way fun. The museum is housed in the old patten office. The inside is one giant room where they used to hold meetings. Overhead are the balconies for each floor, I think 5 floors, with HUGE columns and very ornate detail. I am sooo not a writer and am not explaining it well but it truly is awe inspiring. Anyway, in the main room downstairs there is also a fountain in the middle. But we went to the KIDS CONSTRUCTION ZONE. It's like an indoor playground with anything and everything you can possibly think of, including tools and construction outfits, to use to build things. We played with giant foam blocks and made walls to destroy, magnetic blocks to build robots and guns, took tools into the giant playhouse and constructed walls etc... The kids had a blast! My temperamental camera was not functioning so... no photos :o( But the wonderful Kalyn gave me some recommendations so soon I will have a new one. Anyway, afterwards we went to the Firehook Bakery. They have a little store in the museum. Anyone from DC knows they make THE BEST COOKIES EVER!



When we got home the kids wanted pizza for lunch. Now this is a GREAT idea for anyone who needs a cold/rainy day activity with their kids. We used the Betty Crocker pizza mix, ragu sauce and 2% cheese mixed with a little Parmesan for extra flavor. The mix takes only 5 minutes, just add hot water and let it sit. I put the dough in a spring form pan, let the kids dust their hands with flour and off they went making the crust. Each got to scoop out some sauce and sprinkle cheese. Start to finish only 20 minutes and they loved doing it! The spring form worked well to help keep the dough, cheese and sauce from hitting the table and was really easy to remove for pizza cutting. I highly recommend this! Oh and it tasted really good too. I wasn't sure about the package crust but actually it was quite tasty. Now if you have a kid that isn't quite so picky as Max you could use veggies or meats to make a face on it!

Not bad for homemade huh?

I know someone who was happy!

Oh, and check out the wall behind Max, that's our new kitchen color and the bead board which got stained to match the floors today... more photos coming tomorrow - PROMISE!

Max insisted on this photo, he kept posing and saying "take it Mommy". Can you say ham?