...I need to document the words that my three-year-old actually says. I will warn you most of these reflect my "awesome" parenting and are probably TMI but they're also hilarious at the same time!
*Any time I'm getting dressed, AR looks at me and says, "Mommy, you're sexy." Umm... thanks?
*After swim lessons she says she has to go potty. She sits down and informs me she has to poop. While making the strain face, she looks at me and says, "Oh... I think I just started my period." Apparently, I may have said that loud enough for her to hear.
*A motorcycle drives by and AR points it out. I tell her motorcycles are dangerous and for big boys. She says, "When I grow up, I'll ride a motorcycle because I'll be a big boy and have a penis!"
*At her church preschool during lunch, "Hey Miss Kim, my daddy drinks beer!"
*She found my breast bump parts the other day and walked over with one in her mouth THEN asked what it was. Ever since, she holds it to her boob and tries to feed her baby.
*In December, my stepdad was watching AR while my mom ran to get gas. AR had to go potty then asked him to help her wipe. David was standing there saying that he didn't know how. Then AR informed him, "Mommy says front to back, front to back!"
*AR stomps out of her room and goes to Matt, "Daddy, you woke everyone up, even monkey!"
Matt: "No, I didn't, I heard monkey in there talking."
AR: "No you didn't because monkeys don't talk!" *flings her monkey into her bedroom*
Gah, I love this kid!!!
Saturday, January 16, 2016
#PimpingPositivity Soldier Style~January & February 2016
On December 27, my stepfather unexpectedly passed away. On December 28, we boarded a plane from MO to FL to be with my mom. On January 2, we flew back to STL via ATL. It must've been deployment day because military men and women were everywhere in both airports. I'm doing the best I can to teach AR about the sacrifice our service people make for our country so she was busy telling each of them "thank you for your service" and distributing high fives.
When we got home and back into our routine, those young men and women dressed in camo were weighing heavily on my heart. I saw them say goodbye to their loved ones, tears were being shed by both family members and soldiers, and so many of them were so young with no idea what lay ahead of them. One night on Facebook, I saw that a fellow author was adopting a soldier that had reached out to her about one of her books. It hit me hard that this was an excellent opportunity to teach AR about gratitude, appreciation, and paying it forward. In a long line of seven degrees of separation, a soldier's address was given to me and hence, he and his unit were adopted by us!
Our goal is to send a package once a month. Every week at the grocery store, I grab a few extra things to throw in the box. Here's the information that was provided to me:
"His unit is only on MREs to eat so they love receiving food supplies they can cook over fire i.e. canned meats, bacon that doesn't have to be refrigerated, flavored noodle and rice packets, pizza crust, sauce, tortillas with seasoning, canned beans, pancake mix, etc..."
I was also told that we should decorate the inside of our package to make it more fun and brighten their morale. Some units do not allow decorations on the outside and so the soldier may never get it if you do that.
We sent our first package in January. After that first time at the grocery store, I found myself thinking about the soldiers as I ran to McDonald's for lunch or ate my pork chop for dinner. Here these men and women were thrilled to get Ramen noodles and canned beans! We really take for granted the things we easily have on hand here in the States.
So for our first package, I winged it and it included:
Ramen Noodles
Real Bacon Bits
Knorr side dishes
Packets of Taco Bell Hot Sauce
Packets of Advil
Jalepeno Tortillas
Packets of ranch, sloppy joe, au ju, spaghetti sauce mixes
Instant Oatmeal Packets
Boxes of hard candy (Sprees, SweetTarts, and Red Hots)
Mints
Drop-in Drink Mixes
Razors
AR and I used crayons and decorated the flaps of a plain cardboard box, sealed it up, and shipped it off. The cost to send was $27.
THEN, I did a little research and realized I was doing it all wrong! Seriously, go search "military care packages" on Pinterest and your mind will be BLOWN! So, in true Type-A personality, I searched and searched and I have a whole list of themes for each of our packages for like the next two years! I don't think our soldier's deployment is that long so we'll have to find someone to adopt once he comes home.
I also found that you can get a flat-rate first priority box for free from the post office. No matter the weight, it currently cost $17.50 to ship the box. The only problem is, it's kinda small so you have to get real creative in how you pack your box. It's important that you individually package certain things. For instance, put all soap, shampoo, etc... in one bag because if it leaks, it would really suck if it got all over the food in the box. Plus, take things out of the boxes to save room and fit more!
I've got all my friends, family, and co-workers saving any kind of sauce packets for me because the word on the street is those are in high demand to flavor up those MREs.
Moving on to our second month, February, we were much better prepared! We decorated the flaps for Valentine's Day, stuck an inspirational quote on the bottom, and AR really wanted to cut some paper so we have random paper stripes and shapes taped to the bottom. AR was a great glue helper!
Once it all dried, we made some conversation hearts. AR did most of the writing with some guidance of my dots or just looking at the word I wrote on the bottom. Our words were: HERO, BRAVE, STRONG, U.S.A.
This month's package included:
More spaghetti, sloppy joe, and au ju mixes
Seasoned salt
Just add water instant mashed potatoes
Packets of tuna in various flavors
Spaghettios (one giant can and four individual cans)
Cans of chili
Beef Ramen noodles
Kool-Aid Mix
Packets of sugar and creamer
Bottle of hot sauce
Granola
Monopoly Card Game
More Advil
This box is HEAVY (almost 19 pounds!) so we're definitely getting our money's worth with the flat rate shipping on this one. Without the box, it would've been $50!!!
So far, we're having a blast with this project! We're hoping to get a picture of the guys in the unit soon so we can do a Flat Stanley-like project with them so I'll keep you updated.
My niece is selling Girl Scout cookies and so far, she's sold over 60 boxes for these guys! My goal is to spoil them as much as possible to let them know how much we appreciate everything they do for our country. I'll keep you posted on each month's packages to let you know what we come up with. If there's any military men or women reading this, we truly appreciate all of your dedication and sacrifice for our country!
When we got home and back into our routine, those young men and women dressed in camo were weighing heavily on my heart. I saw them say goodbye to their loved ones, tears were being shed by both family members and soldiers, and so many of them were so young with no idea what lay ahead of them. One night on Facebook, I saw that a fellow author was adopting a soldier that had reached out to her about one of her books. It hit me hard that this was an excellent opportunity to teach AR about gratitude, appreciation, and paying it forward. In a long line of seven degrees of separation, a soldier's address was given to me and hence, he and his unit were adopted by us!
Our goal is to send a package once a month. Every week at the grocery store, I grab a few extra things to throw in the box. Here's the information that was provided to me:
"His unit is only on MREs to eat so they love receiving food supplies they can cook over fire i.e. canned meats, bacon that doesn't have to be refrigerated, flavored noodle and rice packets, pizza crust, sauce, tortillas with seasoning, canned beans, pancake mix, etc..."
I was also told that we should decorate the inside of our package to make it more fun and brighten their morale. Some units do not allow decorations on the outside and so the soldier may never get it if you do that.
We sent our first package in January. After that first time at the grocery store, I found myself thinking about the soldiers as I ran to McDonald's for lunch or ate my pork chop for dinner. Here these men and women were thrilled to get Ramen noodles and canned beans! We really take for granted the things we easily have on hand here in the States.
So for our first package, I winged it and it included:
Ramen Noodles
Real Bacon Bits
Knorr side dishes
Packets of Taco Bell Hot Sauce
Packets of Advil
Jalepeno Tortillas
Packets of ranch, sloppy joe, au ju, spaghetti sauce mixes
Instant Oatmeal Packets
Boxes of hard candy (Sprees, SweetTarts, and Red Hots)
Mints
Drop-in Drink Mixes
Razors
AR and I used crayons and decorated the flaps of a plain cardboard box, sealed it up, and shipped it off. The cost to send was $27.
THEN, I did a little research and realized I was doing it all wrong! Seriously, go search "military care packages" on Pinterest and your mind will be BLOWN! So, in true Type-A personality, I searched and searched and I have a whole list of themes for each of our packages for like the next two years! I don't think our soldier's deployment is that long so we'll have to find someone to adopt once he comes home.
I also found that you can get a flat-rate first priority box for free from the post office. No matter the weight, it currently cost $17.50 to ship the box. The only problem is, it's kinda small so you have to get real creative in how you pack your box. It's important that you individually package certain things. For instance, put all soap, shampoo, etc... in one bag because if it leaks, it would really suck if it got all over the food in the box. Plus, take things out of the boxes to save room and fit more!
I've got all my friends, family, and co-workers saving any kind of sauce packets for me because the word on the street is those are in high demand to flavor up those MREs.
Moving on to our second month, February, we were much better prepared! We decorated the flaps for Valentine's Day, stuck an inspirational quote on the bottom, and AR really wanted to cut some paper so we have random paper stripes and shapes taped to the bottom. AR was a great glue helper!
Once it all dried, we made some conversation hearts. AR did most of the writing with some guidance of my dots or just looking at the word I wrote on the bottom. Our words were: HERO, BRAVE, STRONG, U.S.A.
This month's package included:
More spaghetti, sloppy joe, and au ju mixes
Seasoned salt
Just add water instant mashed potatoes
Packets of tuna in various flavors
Spaghettios (one giant can and four individual cans)
Cans of chili
Beef Ramen noodles
Kool-Aid Mix
Packets of sugar and creamer
Bottle of hot sauce
Granola
Monopoly Card Game
More Advil
This box is HEAVY (almost 19 pounds!) so we're definitely getting our money's worth with the flat rate shipping on this one. Without the box, it would've been $50!!!
So far, we're having a blast with this project! We're hoping to get a picture of the guys in the unit soon so we can do a Flat Stanley-like project with them so I'll keep you updated.
My niece is selling Girl Scout cookies and so far, she's sold over 60 boxes for these guys! My goal is to spoil them as much as possible to let them know how much we appreciate everything they do for our country. I'll keep you posted on each month's packages to let you know what we come up with. If there's any military men or women reading this, we truly appreciate all of your dedication and sacrifice for our country!
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Slide the City STL...
...Well, I did it. At thirty-two years of age, I survived a slip-n-slide the length of three football fields. Friday afternoon, I went to packet pick-up, along with the majority of other sliders and waited 1.5 hours to get my stuff. I have to admit that I didn't have high hopes for the actual event after waiting in line that long already but hey, I got this sweet hat!
We had Unlimited passes so we got dufflebags, shirts, hats, tubes, and mouthguards.
AR was bummed she didn't get to go but she really enjoyed the stuff that came with it!
We met up early and arrived about 45 minutes before it started. We ended up being the first in line and there was TONS of close and free parking! #winning
But being first in line really wasn't as awesome as it sounded. They only turned on the water a few minutes before sliding started and our lane wasn't getting any water flow!!! No one was around so we took matters into our own hands and managed to get some water doing down our slide.
Then it was time to takeoff... meaning I scooted, stand, run, jump, scoot some more, kick water across the slide, repeat the entire way down. You've definitely got to get your weight at the front of your tube and your feet up.
The second time down was much better, especially if you had a "helper" push you. We used baby oil on the bottom of our tubes but I'd recommend tear-free baby shampoo, does the same thing and eliminates the tears. It was definitely an arm workout that's for sure! We were given round tubes but I'd recommend a rectangle one so you don't have to figure out how to evenly balance all your body weight.
We managed to ride down four times in about two hours but around 11AM, when the event was originally scheduled to start, the line started getting longer so we peaced out. Not sure if I'd do it again, but hey, it's something different and fun and now I can mark it off my list!
Friday, July 10, 2015
Fourth of July 2015...
...Although it's been rainy and cold, that hasn't stopped the summer from flying by! Much too quickly, it seems like Fourth of July sprung up on us which means the rest of the dog days of summer are going to fly by. We spent the holiday at my dad's where we crafted, ate good, and shot off LOTS of fireworks!!! Here's the AR and me waiting for the show to begin...
This splash pad was perfect for the actual warm temperatures on this day!
Roadtrip to KY, OH, IN...
...Geez, it feels like forever ago but really it was just a couple weeks that my sis and I loaded up our daughters and headed to Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and maybe a few other states for tons of fun! It was just a fun weekend, roadtrip that included a LOT of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun on Amazon Prime.
First stop, Louisville Slugger Factory!!! AR was less than impressed with the tour but she loved swinging the bat around that she got. We found all our favorite Cardinals' players signatures, too!
We were planning on going to Churchill Downs for a tour then on a whim decided to go to the actual horse races instead. My sister made a few bets and when I saw the line-up, I said I'd bet on My Gray Lady so we did... and we won!!!! A whopping $9!!!
We had dinner at the most amazing place called Mark's Feed Store. I'll tell you, I wasn't a fan of their bbq sauces but their onion straws and fried pickles were delish! What really made it great though was our server, Tyler. The guy was on top of it and super laid back yet quick... I mean, it's really hard to find good service any more and this guy was AWESOME!!!
Oh, did I mention that Louisville has #horsehunting??? So we found a few of those...
And this year, the #ASG is in Cincinnati, Ohio so we made a day trip there to go #mustachehunting
This is the Cincy Museum, we stopped to go to the bathroom and gave our opinion on the new towel dispensers. I tweeted them and they thanked me for washing my hands!
We ate lunch across from the stadium and snapped these awesome pics. It was super windy!
We drove back to Louisville that afternoon and headed to the Science Center, it's only $5 after 5PM. AR and H both really enjoyed it!
On the way home, we stopped in Santa Claus, Indiana and AR got to visit with 'ole Kris Kringle who she kept saying, "That's funny, Santa Claus!"
We returned home to tornadoes!!! Overall, great trip!
Friday, June 12, 2015
Foto Friday!!!
...Here are a few random photos AKA photo dump!
We went to my dad's a couple weekends ago. H wanted to drive my car into the garage and ugh, she really looks like she could be old enough to drive!
While we were in Cape, we went to our second cousins' dance recital. Here's a pic of H, AR, and their cousins.
We also had the last of AR's third birthday celebration. She requested popsicles for her birthday treat... ask and you shall receive!
Last week some of Matt's friends had their daughter. They have always been good friends to us thoughout all the hardships we've had over the years and were one of two of our friends that visited us in the hospital when AR was born. We loaded up with some hand-me-downs of AR's and some new outfits that AR helped me pick out and went to visit. On the way there, AR was so sweet and said, "Mommy, maybe when Baby King is bigger, her mommy will let me hold her." When we arrived, Julie asked her right away if AR wanted to hold her and she was so excited, just check out that smile on her face! Welcome to the world Baby Lillian! When we were driving home, AR said to me, "Mommy, maybe next time we see Baby King, I can hold her by myself and you won't sit by me." Umm... we'll see about that...
Last weekend I bought a huge watermelon and we cut it up outside on Saturday afternoon. I swear this child was eating it as fast as I was cutting it. We pureed a few pieces and put them in our new popsicle molds and she drank the juice that was left over. This girl LOVES her watermelon!
We went to my dad's a couple weekends ago. H wanted to drive my car into the garage and ugh, she really looks like she could be old enough to drive!
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
St. Lou Is Jumping!!!
Jump to it this summer when The Magic House joins forces with the St. Louis Rams, the Midwest Dairy Council and Jamba Juice to sweep the region with jumping jacks. In celebration of Missouri naming the jumping jack the official state exercise, The Magic House and its community partners jumped at the opportunity to create St. Lou Is Jumping. A free, summer-long, citywide initiative, St. Lou Is Jumping encourages kids to engage in 60 minutes of active play each day, including fun activities like doing jumping jacks.
Throughout the summer, participating families will receive weekly health and wellness tips, as well as fitness challenges, to encourage them to stay active all summer long. (If you haven't already, sign up at www.magichouse.org/jump.) The summer culminates as we attempt to break a Guinness World Record for "Most People Performing Jumping Jacks Simultaneously" at a St. Louis Rams pre-season game and everyone who is signed up has a chance to be a part of this record setting event!
Throughout the summer, participating families will receive weekly health and wellness tips, as well as fitness challenges, to encourage them to stay active all summer long. (If you haven't already, sign up at www.magichouse.org/jump.) The summer culminates as we attempt to break a Guinness World Record for "Most People Performing Jumping Jacks Simultaneously" at a St. Louis Rams pre-season game and everyone who is signed up has a chance to be a part of this record setting event!
We joined #STLisJumping, have you? We challenge you to a weekly jumping challenge! http://bit.ly/1I9IRfy @usfg @TheMagicHouse
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