Quick 5

Ever read Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan?  You should.  Funny stuff.

1.  Lee and the girls finally got around to playing out in the snow, just before the snow melted away during our end-of-January 70 degree days.  It was Bria's first time playing in the snow.  I thought for sure, given her propensity to stripping down to just her diaper inside the house, that she would absolutely reject having all the layers on that are required for outdoor snow play.  Especially the mittens, which were a little large to begin with.  But she embraced it like she's been doing it her whole life.  And threw a spectacular fit when it came time to drag her indoors.  Anyway, they managed to scrape together a snowman.  Which Alaina destroyed about 30 minutes later, because she was worried it was going to be destroyed by the nocturnal life.  We had a discussion about asking before destroying such things, as well as the capabilities of said nocturnal life.

2.  Lee is still gamely hanging up things I find for him to hang up on our walls.  I tell him that every time he hangs something on the wall, I feel a little more settled.  He wants to know how long it will be before I feel completely settled.  It's so funny when husbands ask questions like that, isn't it?  Anyway, here is our newest addition, a la Pinterest:

Our fridge was out of control with the girls' artwork, plus all the ABC magnets that Bria likes to play with.  So two curtain rods + hanging clips = plenty of space to hang up artwork. 

3.  I thought you'd be as impressed as we were with this drawing that Joya did:

It's the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse gang.  From left to right that's Donald Duck, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Daisy.  We think that Donald is pretty amazing.  And it's amazing that she drew this from memory.  I love artwork from a 4-year-old.

4.  Bria's 2nd birthday is quickly approaching.  That time of year when I completely fry my brain trying to think of presents she would like.  Since family has been asking, here's what I've come up with:
*She loves Minnie Mouse.  She has even commandeered a small stuffed Minnie Mouse that Apple Ben gave to Joya on her second birthday.  Joya is not happy about it, but for now that Minnie Mouse lives in Bria's crib so she won't cry for it when she should be sleeping.  I'm sure we can find her her own so Joya can have hers back.  But anything Minnie Mouse would be a big hit. Especially Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVDs featuring Minnie.
*Since Joya is quite into My Little Ponies, a few for Bria would be a good idea, just to cut down on the tug of war that goes on when the Ponies come out to play.
*She also quite enjoys puzzles.  We have a few, but new ones are always a hit.
*She wears a size 2T, and size 5 shoe

5.  The Kimble house is boycotting the Superbowl this year.  Which is unfortunate, because we really enjoy watching football.  But we feel like this year it has come down to Team Arrogance vs. Team Cheaters.  I want them both to lose so bad.  That's not going to happen, so we're just not going to watch.  There's no reason two odious teams should keep us from queso, though.

Here's a teaser to a project Alaina initiated all on her own.  She has the finished project with her at school today, so you'll have to wait to get the story next week.

Subject: the Revolutionary War.  Stay tuned!

Quick 5

I've wasted too much time trying to come up with a witty opening statement.

1.  Thanks to a well-planned visit from Grammy and Grandad, Lee and I got to have a lovely date at Bonefish Grill on Sunday night.  It was so enjoyable.  And we came away feeling quite uncomfortably full, which was surprising to us, because I never equate fish to eating too much.  But apparently it can happen.  I also never realized how much Lee liked fish.  I know I like it, and I know we only get to eat it maybe once a year.  But that's what happens when you live as land-locked as we do.  It just reinforces my dream of living on some coast and eating fish the way we eat chicken now.  Maybe coast people don't eat fish as much as all that, but I like to think that they do.

2.  I've added some new art to our house.  Lee is withholding his approval, but he'll come around in a few years, I'm sure.  I'm just thankful he hung it up for me.  The point is I've wanted something for over our bed for a long time, and I found this, which I absolutely love:

It's a metal piece, and I love it.  Did I say that already?  Lee thinks it belongs in a place where we practice music, but I think it fits perfect.

3.  The other art I added was a Pinterest project.  Sort of.  Anyway, I made it myself, covering up an old Pinterest project that I was never really happy with.  Slowly our signature wall is coming together.

What you see there are some weird painting things that I bought at the dollar store and Lee spray painted.  I had put some other scrapbook paper on it, but never really liked it.  So I covered it with white card stock, and then cut the girls' silhouettes out of black card stock.  Add a healthy dose of Mod Podge and voila!  Art!

4.  Wednesday was quite cold and snowy.  It was such a pretty snow.  It was also the day that Bria decided not to wear any clothes.  She climbed out of her shirt and pants and ran around shrieking.  So I caught her and put her in some leggings, and then found a onesie that I could snap over the leggings.  I felt so clever.  I even told Lee that I won.  But Bria found a way to climb out of that onesie too.  And once the onesie was off, off came the leggings.  So I let her run around in only a diaper on a cold snowy day.  I guess she won.

5.  We decided to subscribe to Hulu Plus.  It's like Netflix, only really for current TV.  We'd been thinking about it for awhile, because it seems like we're often missing Agents of Shield, and ABC or Hulu or some genius within decided that they would only allow subscribers of some TV service to watch it online the day after it aired.  They made it public the week after it aired, so we were always terribly behind.  And then we'd have to watch it in our cold cold basement.  But if you subscribe to Hulu Plus, you could watch the episode the next day.  AND now we can watch it on our smart TV, in our warm warm living room.  I get that this is a first world problem, but it's made our lives a bit nicer.  And they have a season of 19 Kids and Counting, so I've been enjoying that.

Have a great weekend!

Quick 5

Oh, Broncos.

1.  Remember all that stuff I said last week about the bread maker and making bread?  Scratch all that.  The bread maker decided that it has lived its life to the fullest, and no longer feels the need to exert its energy.  I guess we have to respect that.

2.  Big News #1: The bunk bed is up!  The girls love it and I've already forgotten life without it.  It did require a bit of creative hardware buying on Lee's part to finish the job, but it's up and sturdy and ready for years and years of use.

3. Big News #2: Today we significantly lightened the heavy millstone of debt that has been hanging around our necks for the past 10 years.  Life was uncertain last year when Lee's company told us last January that he would no longer be employed there come the end of the year. But they needed him to stay, so they offered him several retention bonuses.  Obviously he stuck it out and they decided to keep him indefinitely, but they still gave him the bonuses they promised.  So because Lee didn't cut his losses and look for a new job, we were able to take the bonuses and pay off his student loans.  Now all that are left are mine, and since we were finally able to get Dave Ramsey's snowball moving, we'll be out of debt in a little over three years.  Of course we hope to cut that down sooner, but it is so wonderful to know that the end is in sight, and not just a nebulous dream out there.  I'm terribly excited about it.

4.  I've been teaching the girls card games lately.  They love Uno, and they love Go Fish.  Last night I tried to teach them Old Maid.  Now, if you remember, Old Maid is all about secrecy.  Don't let the other players know what cards you have in your hand, because you want them to draw the Old Maid.  Joya was surprisingly good at having no reaction when she drew cards.  Alaina was terrible.  That girl wears her emotions on her sleeve, cheering when she got a regular card and growling when she got the Old Maid.  It is surprising to say that out of the two games we played, though, she didn't end up with the Old Maid once.  We'll stick to Go Fish for now.

5. I think you need to see a few recent pics of my funny, lovely girls:

Peace out!

Quick 5

This weather is moodier than a toddler girl.

1.  My lovely sister-in-law gave me a bread machine.  I've always wondered about baking bread.  Is it really cheaper than buying it every week?  Will it taste and feel the same, or will we have to suck it up for a few weeks while we learn to get used to the difference?  Anyway, she had one they didn't want, so I thought it would be the perfect time to give bread baking a whirl.  I haven't branched out into wheat bread yet, but I made a loaf of French bread last week.  And then for a few days Bria was completely offended when I asked her to eat anything but the bread.  I'll try out wheat bread this next week and we'll see how it goes.

2. We're back in the swing of school, like we never left.  Our morning routine has actually gotten a bit easier for me due to one thing: Bria now feeds herself her oatmeal.  I know, she's almost two and I should feed herself.  But our morning routine is tight, and I knew exactly how long it would take her eat if I fed her.  But over break she took over that task herself and there is no way she's letting me help her now.  But she actually eats way faster than her sisters, even though she starts her breakfast about 10 minutes after they start theirs.  And it frees me up to clean up dishes and other things, and I've found that I have about 5 extra minutes to twiddle my thumbs in the morning.  It's nice.

3.  Last night I starting reading the Little House on the Prairie series to the girls.  Of course we began with the first book Little House in the Big Woods.  I haven't read those books in almost 20 years.  And it cracked me up that in the very first chapter of the very first book how much detail there was about butchering a pig.  It all makes sense, but the girls heard the word "headcheese" for the first time, and got to hear about how excited Mary and Laura were to play with the pig bladder.  And then there is the fact that Mary had a rag doll named Nettie, but all Laura had was a corncob named Susan.  I don't know about the girls, but I'm experiencing what I can only describe as culture shock.

4.  It's fun to listen to your baby learn new words.  Unless she's shrieking those words in the middle of the night.  I don't know if she's cold or if she's in a growth spurt or if it was the full moon, but she has not been sleeping well this week.  Around 3:00 in the morning one day we were startled awake by her yelling "GIMME THAT!!" at the top of her lungs.  Then last night I heard her calling, "Mom?  Mom!  MOM!!  Mom?"  more than once.  Because it's a perfectly natural thing to call out when the house is dark and silent, I guess. 

5.  We have two twin mattress propped up in our living room.  The bunk bed is due to arrive today.  So our weekend plan is to switch out the beds.  We just need to be done by Sunday at 2:40.  The girls are out of their minds with excitement. 

Stay warm!  Go Broncos!

Quick 5 - The Remnants of Christmas

Our Christmas break is coming to an end.  It's been full and I've enjoyed it thoroughly, but I'm getting excited to get back into our normal routine.

1.  Lee and I purposed in our hearts to not take a bunch of pictures this year at Christmas.  The unwrapping presents pictures never turn out anyway, and we wanted to watch everything in real life, not through the screen of a camera.  So we don't have a lot.  But we do have some.

 2.  Christmas was all cousin fun, all the time.  Decorating cookies, eating meals, playing.  It's been fun to watch their play become more organized and peaceful as they all get older.  This Christmas was crazy, but also much more pleasant, now that we don't have a herd of irrational three-year-olds. 

 3. My mom's birthday is the day after Christmas, and we celebrated by going swimming, of course.  There is a great rec center with an incredible indoor pool near my parents' house, and they can get us in a discount.  It was so fun to play around there, especially since while we were swimming it was snowing outside.  Then we got babysitters for the kids and went out as grown ups to the Melting Pot for dinner.  A lovely time was had by all.

4.  We also had a great time visiting with my siblings. Who wouldn't want to hang out with these lovely people?

 5.  The only downside has been the tummy troubles my family is battling.  I'll spare you the details, but it's made a few days unpleasant, here and there.  Especially for a 22 month old who can't do anything but cry because her tummy hurts.  (She's much better now, thanks for asking.)  Plus it's been stupid cold.  But the girls still got to play outside, and will do more of that over the next couple of days as the weather warms into the more tolerable 30s.

 That's a wrap!  Welcome 2015.  Join us next week for our next chapter, entitled "Bunk Beds."