2010 Schedule for Kathy's Bows

Here is my schedule for the upcoming year, 2010 for Kathy's Bows
Please watch for updates with additional shows and updated information!

Moochie's Boutique
Friday, March 5, 2010 9:00am-6:00pm
Saturday, March 6, 2010 9:00am-1:00pm
Woodmont Golf and Country Club
Cherokee Hall
3105 Gaddis Road
Canton, GA

Big Shanty Festival
Saturday, April 17, 2010 10:00am-6:00pm
Sunday, April 18, 2010 12:00pm-5:00pm
Downtown
Kennesaw, GA

Fourth in the Park
Saturday, July 3, 2010 10:00am-10:00pm
Marietta Square City
Marietta, GA

Moochie's Boutique
Dates to be Announced (Usually in August)
Woodmont Golf and Country Club
Cherokee Hall
3105 Gaddis Road
Canton, GA

Fall Jonquil Festival
Saturday, October 23, 2010 10:00am-6:00pm
Sunday, October 24, 2010 12:00pm-5:00pm
Village Green (Downtown)
Smyrna, GA

Creekside Holiday Showcase
Dates to be announced (Usually in November)
673 Peachtree Parkway Bldg A
Cumming, GA

Sprayberry High School
Saturday, November 20, 2010 9:00am-5:00pm
Sunday, November 21, 2010 12:00pm-4:00pm
2525 Sandy Plains Rd
Marietta, GA

Christmas at Northstar
Friday, December 3, 2010 4:00pm-10:00pm
Satruday, December 4, 2010 10:00am-5:00pm
3413 Blue Springs Rd
Kennesaw, GA

Merry Christmas 2009

We decided to put up two trees this year. This one is in the front room.
The view of the banister.

Chani went to a birthday party and came home painted up like this.

Our visit with Mrs. Claus.
Chani giving silly faces.
Finally seeing Santa.


Christmas Eve with friends.






Santa Came!!
Round 1
Daddy with his new trash can.
Time for a quick snooze.

Her final gift.
Which she LOVED.
Getting it all cleaned up.
My pile.
Our main tree.

Traditions

I've been thinking about traditions a lot lately and decided to list mine. These are the ones that started once we came home from China. What traditions do you have?

1. Elf on the Shelf. We started this one last year. Chani is really into it this year and gets so excited when she spots his new landing spot. I find it hard to remember. She isn't so good on behaving and since she's been sick, that compounds it. We named him Sam.

2. Paper chain. You know, the red and green that you tear off each night, counting down the days. We've done this two years in a row now.

3. A new one this year, thanks Amy for the idea! Collecting Christmas books and wrapping each of them. Each night we open a new one right before bed and read them. I had several from last year that I used and added a few new ones this year. I'll put them away after the holidays for next year. They will be "new" again next year. Matt thinks I'm crazy but I'm loving seeing the excitement of her getting a new one. I didn't get started quite as early as I had hopped so now I have too many. She gets one at nap time too. They will be finished by Christmas Eve.

4. I put up two trees this year. One in the front where passer-byers can see it and our ginormous one in the great room. I'm have to say I enjoyed decorating the smaller one. It was so much easier and faster. Under it are gifts for friends, family and others. The big tree will be pretty empty for Santa to fill.

5. Along with her books, there are three gifts under the tree. These are our Eve gifts. Chani and I both get some new pajamas. Matt, on the other hand doesn't wear them. He does have a pair of holiday pants that he'll wear that one and only morning. So, each year, I rewrap the same pair for him. He doesn't think it's fair but I'm thinking it isn't practical. Guess who wins!!

6. Christmas Eve dinner is ALWAYS Chili. It always has been and always will be. Unless of course we're not at home.

7. Christmas balls. - Every Christmas since I left home at 18, my Grandma would buy me a dated ball to hang on my tree. It's been over 20 years now and I still have every one. She hasn't been able to buy them herself anymore so I'll buy them with the money she sends.

That's about all. I can't think of anything more at the moment.

Blog? What blog?

Well, it has been over two months now since I've updated my blog. Since then, we've been on a cruise in the Caribbean, traveled to Pennsylvania, celebrated our 2nd Gotcha Day anniversary and decorated for Christmas. I've also done two bow shows and two home parties. I've been mapping out my schedule for next year and hopefully will have the majority of the shows set and on the calendar. I'm going to literally venture outside my realm of shows and do some outside ones too. I'm needing to purchase a canopy for that.

Then, on top of it all, we've been getting ready for Christmas. I think we're almost done with that. I'm done with the decorating, shopping and wrapping except for that which is still being shipped. The only thing I have left to do is some baking which I'll tackle next week. Both Chani and I have been pretty sick. She had pink eye and a cold that just will not go away. I've had strep and the flu and it doesn't appear that has gone away either. I'm thinking a revisit to the doctor is in order for both of us. I'll tackle that next week as well.

Due to our sicknesses, we've had to cancel three holiday parties. We have two more coming so we can at least get in some fun.

Here are some random photos over the past couple of months. The little boy is our new neighbors and the two of them are quite smitten with each other. It's just adorable!

As I was looking through my posts, I found this draft so I thought I'd go ahead and shoot it up since the photos were already uploaded. That's the worst part of blogging, uploading and organizing the photos.

The first ones are of us carving pumpkins.

The following are of her school party. We actually had two parties this day and this one was the second of the day. She INSISTED on being a cat for her morning party and a pumpkin for the afternoon one. Well, she REFUSED to let me remove the whiskers so here she is, a pumpkin with whiskers.

Various Disney Days

Thought this was all day two but since she has on various outfits, I guess it's not.



"Tant rum" at Disney.



We'll say, "Don't eyeball 'whatever - Daddy, the couch, the window, etc'" and she'll look out the side of her eye but only this one direction. She'll turn her head in order to see you. It's so funny.


Dinner with the princesses.


Catching bubbles.










She was scared of Jasmine, Aurora and Cinderella. She was also scared of this Belle. She posed pretty as can be when Belle was dressed in her yellow gown. Why? I have no idea but she liked the other princesses and especially the other characters.

I still have plenty of pictures to weed through so more will probably be coming.

Our trip to the pumpkin patch

One afternoon last week we drove up to a pumpkin patch to get some pumpkins. This place was huge with tons and tons of pumpkins and everything pumpkin related. The girls just loved running through all of them. They are absolutely adorable together.

Disney Day 1

This isn't a very good picture but I LOVE her smile after seeing Pluto.


She really loved all the "fuzzy" characters. She would run up to each and hug them.


One of the fun things for me was to find the hidden Mickeys. This is the first one that I found.


She didn't have a problem with Mary Poppins or Alice.



We found a LOT of characters.


Posing with Snow White.


Mulan took her hand and they walked to the kidcot station.


They then exchanged hugs.


We have a picture of Anna in front of this guy from a couple years ago. I need to search for it.

That was day 1. More will be coming.

Beach/Disney/Flood

So, this month is almost gone and still not much free time. How did my life get so busy? I used to have time to go to the grocery shopping or shopping in general. Now it needs to be added to the calendar. I started cleaning out her toy room but it has taken me three days just to get it organized again and I'm still working on it but I will have time today to get it done. Don't get me wrong, I love to stay busy and have lots to do but sometimes it gets tough.

We started the month off with our annual trip to the beach. We spend a very relaxing week with no schedule, no cooking, no anything but going where we wanted and doing whatever. Well, I guess we did have some sort of a schedule with tour hours and nap times. We drove out to a lighthouse and Chani and I climbed all 203 steps to the top. Matt wasn't feeling 100% so he decided not to climb it. I will have to admit that the closer to the top that we got, the more nervous for her I became. I was holding onto her for dear life the last couple of flights. Once we reached the top, she wanted to run around with the wind blowing. Of course she didn't much like it when I insisted that she hold my hand most of the time. We found Daddy and waved before the descent down. I went first and let her come down behind me so I could attempt a rescue if needed. No worries though, she made it. I know my legs were wobbly after all those stairs.

We visited a chocolate factory and watched them make it and they even covered potato chips in chocolate while we were there. They gave us free samples too which she LOVED. We visited a science museum where we saw a tiny little owl. They also were a hospital for turtles needing rehab. It was really kind of sad seeing the things that the turtles ate which in turn caused their death. There wasn't much else to this place. We visited a park and a children's museum. This museum wasn't quite up to par with others that I've been to either but she seemed to enjoy it and hey, that's what counts isn't it?!

Last year she loved being in the ocean. This year, not so much. We did get her out to about waist high a couple of times but mostly she wanted to just be in it about ankle high. She loved splashing it and walking in it which we did daily. We picked up tons of shells and did a couple of projects with them. We gathered with others and did tie dye shirts and another time we painted sun catchers and then painted some wooden fish. We also got in the pool most days too.

After our week there, we headed to Disney World. We stayed at the Beach Club in a room that was the closest to Epcot. It was an awesome location. We walked a short way to the steps, went down one flight and out the door, out the gate and just a short walk to Epcot. It was a really nice location. We hit all four parks at least once with our park hopper tickets. We came home most afternoons to nap and rest. That was a great thing for us to do. We really paid for it with tantrums if we didn't. Chani really loved seeing the characters. Most of them she would run up to and give them a big hug. It was so cute. She was frightened of Cinderella and Aurora and Jasmine. Why? I have no idea. I guess since they were strange people instead of characters. Her favorite princess is Ariel. We stood in line for 40 minutes just for her picture. We got most autographs which was as much fun for me as it was for her. I also looked for hidden Mickeys. That was fun for me too unless it got too hot then, not so much. One highlight was when we saw Mulan. We were the last to get our picture with her and then, she took Chani's hand and we walked her over to the kidcot station in China. At one time she started to get scared so Matt grabbed her other hand and the three of them walked together. Another really great thing I did was to bring little plastic characters that we already had from home. She never knew they were already hers. Each day after nap as we were leaving for the afternoon, I would hang back a bit and set out the characters we saw that morning, I would leave them on her bed in the same place each day along with a note from them telling her how exciting it was for them to see her or visit or whatever they did. She was so excited to come home each night to find them on her bed.

We also had the free dining plan. She was too young to get one nor did we need park tickets for her yet. I thought that we'd end up having to order more food but no. They really give you tons of food. At the buffets she was able to have her own plate. There was only one place that we didn't like. We ordered choc milk for her to drink and they told us that we'd have to pay for it. Don't know why when everyone else was so accommodating. We had five sit down meals, five counter meals and five snacks. We had brought some water with us but not enough so the snacks were used mostly for water. I'll remember to bring more next time. We had rain most days we were there but that didn't stop us. We put on rain ponchos and had one for her stroller. Speaking of strollers, guess who forgot to bring ours? So, before we got to Disney, I insisted on buying one. It definitely isn't the Mcclaren that we have at home but it sure made things a whole lot easier. Chani wanted to be in it most of the time. Another thing that I won't forget next time.

On our last day, we stopped by MK once again and spent the morning there. After lunch we headed home. Around 10PM we blew out a tire in the poring rain so we had to stop and fix that. It was quite something trying to figure out where to put the jack. That mess took us 1 1/2 hours before we could head home finally.

Once we got home, it was raining here and apparently closer to the city, they had a huge flood. It was raining here in our town and has been damp but other than that, we didn't have any damage or destruction. Hearing it on the news is just heartbreaking.

I've finally settled back into a regular routine with all clean laundry and suitcases stored for our next adventure.

Hope this wasn't too boring.

Pictures are coming in the next post.

What we've been up to.

Where has the time gone? We have been warp speed busy this summer and lately I feel like I just don't have a handle on things. So, some more bullets.

*For the past two long weekends, (3 and 4 days each time) I did bow shows. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy doing them and selling my stuff but I'd be happy if I didn't need to see a bow for a little while. I've been away from home so much; it feels like I almost have a job again. I'm also revamping the stores that sell my bows into the fall colors so that has kept me busy too. Both shows were successful with one being the best one that I've ever done so my stock is really low. I really need to work on them but I think I'm going to take a small break from them for a bit.
In the meanwhile, I haven't been home to take care of things, including Chani. Matt has had to play Mommy for a few days while I was gone. As you can imagine, I have a ton of work to catch up on.

*I'm having a very hard time trying to find a lawn service to take care of my lawn. I've made several calls, asked neighbors for referrals, sent emails and still I haven't found one reasonable company. One did come out and gave me a quote almost double what I had been paying. Another one came out and gave me a quote to take care of the weeds. After a long story with him, they are finally supposed to come on Monday to quote me for the rest. Let's hope they show up.

*We went to the Dora Live concert last Sunday. Chani is really, really into Dora right now. Even more so than Elmo so we thought it would be fun for her. She did seem to enjoy it okay. I'm glad we went but wouldn't do it again. It seemed very amateur, almost like a high school play. Neither Matt nor I were all that impressed. Even the Elmo show we did last year seemed to have more pizzazz. We did have great seats and we love the theater where it was held.

*The week before, we had a girl’s only vacation. Chani and I went with Christy and Katie to Hilton Head. The forecast called for rain every single day but we got none! It was absolutely perfect weather. We stayed in a condo and went to the beach every day. I even had some time to read my book. Although I couldn't get Chani into the ocean. She screamed each time I tried and was scared of the waves. We went to a park and played there. We went to a children's museum where the girls had a blast. We even swam in the pool for awhile. It was a fun, nice getaway. I still haven't even looked at the photos yet so they will come later.

*The weekend before that, we went to Briana's 3rd birthday party at a bounce house. Chani loves bouncing, especially if we get in there with her. We had a great time seeing everyone and playing. We also had a potluck that weekend which was a lot of fun too. It's so much fun watching the little ones play together. They are so cute.

*That about wraps up what we've been up to, along with our regular schedule of gymnastics, ballet and preschool. Now onto what we have coming.

*Next weekend we are headed to the beach again, only this time to Florida. We have a full week of nothing but beach and laziness. After we laze around the first week, we're off to Disney for a short week!! I've made these super duper cute mouse ears that Chani and will both wear.


I can't wait to go! I think this is going to be a yearly thing now. She's more into it this year and knows a lot more of the characters. We may slip over to Orlando during our beach week to check out some more non Disney stuff too. I still have to pack!

In line up when we come back is a bar-b-que, a private home bow party, many, many fall celebrations, a cruise with our friends Pam and Steve, a trip to PA to visit family, another huge bow show, a holiday ballet recital and the list goes on and on.

And, now some random photos.

More bullets

UPDATE:

I wrote this blog entry back in July with full intentions of adding photos but never got to it. Since it took me awhile to write it, I'll go ahead and post it without photos and start a new post since it has been awhile.

* Daddy took Chani to a birthday party by himself yesterday. One of the preschool kids invited us so we went. I don't even know the little girl. So, what do you get a little girl you don't even know? I gave her some Gymboree bubbles and a bow. What was Chani's party favor? A box with small bubbles, a turtle that grows in water, a Dora spin top, a small Elmo board book, 5 sticks of sidewalk chalk, a bottle of silly string and 8 hair clippies. Boy do I feel cheap.

*Our preschool decided since the new school year is about to start that they are going to advance Chani to the next grade level and charge us more. They are also going to charge us a registration fee. It's already outrageously expensive but the location and security can't be beat. She's happy there and it give me some much needed free time but I am about 90% sure that we're going to pull her out for this reason. I feel that it's way too early to increase our fees. We've been to class 22 days.

*I've been looking at doing my own home preschooling thing and looking at some curriculums and trying to come up with a plan. I am thinking about doing it at the same time as her school. She just won't get the socialization like she does now but she gets that anyway with all our other activities.

*I had my second bow party and with very few people, it was a success. I took the advise of the girls at the first one and had tons more games this time. I have a couple more adjustments to make so the next one should be even more fun. Note to self - no more wine for me during party!

*Went to an open house of a gym that is a bit closer to me, however, wasn't all that impressed. Thought I was going to give up gymnastics this fall but if we withdraw her from school, may need to rethink that.

*Had a date night with Matt this week. Left Chani with a babysitter for only the 3rd time. Went to see Harry Potter. Last time I went to the movies with him alone was a year ago in July when we left Chani for the 1st time.

*Signed up for three consignment sales, selling bows at two. Tagged over 450 items and vowed to not purchase so many items this season. Total outfits for this fall/winter so far = 12 and most of them are on order.

*Took her bowling for the second time. She loves it for about 7-8 frames and then gets tired of it. Overall winner of the day was her friend Gray, age 3 who beat us all.

*Attempted blueberry picking for the second time this year but was a bust. No berries left so we ended up having an impromptu play date here. Have another playdate planned for this week. Need to come up with a craft idea.

*The past two days, have been able to shut off the air and open up the windows. So nice outside this weekend.

*Ordered some caterpillars and put them in our butterfly house and watched them change to butterflies. Released all five of them today. Was a little bit sad, a little bit gross but overall was a great experience.

So much yet so little

So much has been going yet I have such little time to blog about it. Some highlights since my last posting are.

1. She is loving preschool. She goes twice a week for three hours each day. Her school is only ten minutes away so it's really convenient. Matt takes her on his way to work and I go and pick her up. One of her teacher told me that she just loves having her in her class.

2. She knows the alphabet pretty well now, along with all the colors. She can recognize 10 capital letters. She recognizes Pre*sident Ob*ama, Brian Wil*liams and Charlie Gib*son.

3. She is fascinated with Dora now so we now have tickets to see her live in August.

4. Today, as she was giving me a hug, she said, "I love you Mama." - Those are some very sweet words.

5. Last weekend, we had two birthday parties in one afternoon and another one next weekend. All for 3 year olds.

6. We played in a stream and had a pool party but I have yet to get in the pool with her this summer. Last year, we went almost daily.

7. We gave up pullups at night.

8. We made our dinner reservations for Disney. It's still too far away. I'm ready to go now.

9. Lisa is hosting my first home bow party. So excited to finally be doing that. If you're local and would like to host one, please contact me. I'd love to do one for you and have some great incentives and free bows.

10. We're going to have a house full of kids tomorrow with my Mom's group.

11. We made fireworks today.

12. I've painted 8 pictures now and they aren't too bad.

13. We bought sand today and are going to set up a sand box this evening if it cools down a bit.

14. She's loving dance camp. Once a week for 8 weeks, three hours each time. I've been strolling through stores, shopping and seeing everything that I've been missing with her with me. Love it!

15. I'm out of wall space to hang all her photos.

16. She always tells Daddy that she wants moneys. Too cute!

17. Matt was hand selected to be on a team to develop apps for the iPhone. He's excited.

18. I have two bow shows and two consignment sales coming up.

19. I have to prepare a meal for twelve in July. Any suggestions on what to prepare?

20. I love my housekeeper. She's been working for me for over a year now and does a fabulous job. The house always looks great when she's finished.

21. We're considering hosting another foreign exchange student.

Potty Training

Warning: Turn away now if you're squeamish about this topic. Although it's not bad.






So, we decided that it was time to get to training her. Last Thursday after school, we removed her final diaper and tossed it out along with the rest of them in the trash can. She was bare bottom running around the house for a few days. She had a few accidents but did really well overall. We moved the potty seat into the living room which made things much easier. On the third day, we moved it back and she was going in there on her own and then announcing that she had. We gave her a sticker for each time she pottied and that chart filled up quickly. Each time she poops, she gets a small toy of her choice. That's not going so well. She is scared to go into the potty chair. She gets really nervous and wants to get up so I have to hold her hands and talk her through it.

We went out for about three hours and she held it the entire time, even though we tried going 3-4 times. Once we got home, no problem. I ordered a traveling potty chair so hopefully it will be here in the next couple of days.

I thought she would do fine at school. Boy was I wrong. First of all, she spilled some water and needed to be changed into her spare outfit. Then, she told her teacher that she needed to go potty and she sat there and said she was done without going. The teacher had her stay a bit longer but still nothing so she let her get up. A few minutes later, yep, you guessed it, she ended up going on the floor. I didn't quite get the whole story but she had on the spare outfit that I had sent and had gone through two pair of panties. Anyway, the teacher put her in someone else's pull up. It was new of course but does this bother anyone else? I was so upset and I told her NOT to put her in a pull up again. I'd rather her go bare bottom under her pants than go back to a diaper. We only use pull ups at night time. There is no way I am going to put her back in a diaper now. She has done so well without them. I'm thinking that maybe the teacher just had her hands full that day and didn't give Chani the attention that she needed. Nor did she want to risk her going on the floor and instead of paying more attention to her, she just did took the easy route. The teacher usually fills out a daily sheet with comments on how she did. Well, she didn't have time yesterday so I'm thinking that might be it. Also, in the beginning, she told me that she would help in any way that she could once we did train her so I felt comfortable that she would help her. Now I'm not so sure about that. Chani still loves going and seems to have a great time. Oh, and she was dry when we got home and I removed the pull up. Any thoughts?

Chani goes bowling!

Daddy taking her up for her very first throw.


Letting it go.


This is her second ever ball.


Check out her very first frame! - I'm so proud!!


So was she!



Today we me up with some friends and took the girls bowling. They had a simple ramp for kids to use. Bowling sure has changed over the years. It was all electronic, even the bumpers would come up automatically when the child's name came up next. It was such a fun day.

Our trip up north part 2

On our final day, we awoke earlier than usual since we were still on Eastern time. We ate our breakfast, loaded the car and headed down south for a couple of hours. We stopped by my Aunt and Uncle's for a short visit. He's my Dad's brother and reminds me so much of Dad, especially when he says, "Good-bye". They have six grand kids and boy did they have the toys. Chani was in heaven being here. One of their sons stopped by to see us for a little bit before we had to leave again. Next time I think we'll stay with them. I wish we would have this time but we know better now. We then loaded in the car once again and headed to KC to meet up with another of their sons for lunch. We had a quick lunch with him and headed to our hotel. Oh, how I wish I had more time. They had a great indoor pool and I would have loved to gone swimming but we didn't have the time.

Instead of swimming, we went here. This place was an old school that they turned into a discovery place for little ones. We spent almost three hours here. Chani had such a fun time. Later on, we met up with my nephew who turns 21 in another week. It was fun to see him as an "adult".

Sadly, we had to get back to the hotel to get settled and up again the next morning to return the car and catch our flight.

All in all, it was a great trip. Just a bit too short and nearly 800 miles on the rental car. I wish I had the time to visit a few more relatives and do a few more things. Matt wants to go back on the Fourth of July, 2010 for our cheesy hometown celebration. I took him once when we were still dating and he saw his first parade with tractors. He's never let me forget that! Hey, it's Iowa. What do you expect?

My Uncle Bob on the floor with Chani.



My cousin, Rob had just left but made the trip back just to see us.


Connie, Chani, Bob and Robbie.


Our visit to Wonderscope.




Our little scuba diver.




Our dinner with my nephew, Nathan and his girlfriend, Kaitlin.







Come on Mom, let's go!!

Our trip up north

Chani and I made an all too short trip up north to Iowa to visit with family. I hadn't been back since my Dad died nor had anyone on his side of the family met Chani so we thought it was time.

We purchased a sit n stroll stroller for our trips. It did make things rather easy. One time we did a trip and didn't have a car seat and found it rather difficult to get from the airport to the hotel without one. We managed but learned a valuable lesson so we broke down and bought this. It is a great concept but the quality just isn't there for either a stroller or car seat. It converts rather easily but in coach class seats, it doesn't quite fit. We had to get a seat belt extension. The belt fits right across their chest so they are pretty restrained. I found it difficult to strap into the car too. I ended up just using the standard seat belt each time she got in and out on top of the harness. It was pain but it worked. It was great having her both her seat and stroller and fairly easy to get around with it when she would sit in it. She loved to push it by herself.

We arrived in Kansas City, Mo, rented a car and drove to Iowa. Once we got there, I stopped and picked up some flowers and went to the cemetery. This was very difficult. I tried to explain to Chani that it would be sad for me and I would probably cry which I did. She just looked at me funny and kept saying, "Mommy's sad." They have a pond there with koi in it and as a child, we would go and feed them bread. We did this every time we went out there so Chani and I did that too. The weather was perfect and nearing evening. We walked around the pond, sitting at one point and had a blast tossing in the bread. We left and I told her that I wasn't sad anymore but was happy again. We went to our hotel, checked in and went to sleep.

The next morning, we went to my Grandma and Cleo's new place. They had sold the house and all their belongings and moved into a retirement community. They didn't have quite enough room for us to stay with them and the local hotel was booked so we had to stay about 30 miles away. We made it there just before lunch time. My aunt came down and we had a nice dinner. After our nap, we drove to a different town another 30 miles further away and met up with fellow bloggers Michael and Kimberly and their little girl Miaya. She was adorable. We found out that Kimberly grew up in a house that Cleo's parents had built. Cleo would be my step-grandfather, I think. He's married my Grandma awhile after Grandpa died some 20 plus years ago. We've always called him Cleo. Chani calls him "key o". We stayed for "supper" and wayyyyy too late and had to drive an hour to get back.

The next day, we drove back to Grandmas and spent the day with them. Along the way, I drove by my old house where we grew up. It hasn't changed much but it was fun to see it. My Grandma is the best cook. She is 93 years old and still makes homemade noodles. Oh, they were sooo good. She also makes homemade rhubarb jam which I was so fortunate enough to bring home a couple of jars. We went out and picked some rhubarb and also went to the cemetery again. When Chani saw where we were, she said, "Mommy's sad but she's happy now." It's funny that she connects the two things. Later on that afternoon, we did manage to leave a bit earlier and went to the hotel to pack and settle in for the night. Leaving was difficult too.

I'll do another post to wrap up the visit as this one is getting too long.

At the pond, feeding the fish.


My Grandma and Chani.



She adored Cleo.




My Aunt Pat



Love this photo of their hands.



She adored Grandma too. She loved sitting on her lap.





She loved walking with Cleo.



And Pat.



Miaya.



Finally playing ball.



Gift Giving.





Chani on Miaya's prized tractor.



Both girls.




Our last day with Grandma.

Mother's Day

On Mother's Day, I woke up early in the morning as usual when it's still quite dark. For some reason, I came down the front stairs instead of the back stairs as usual. I plopped down to check messages and then decided to go make my coffee. It doesn't take much to startle me and this time was a huge balloon. There was also a huge bouquet of flowers and a card. Awww, how sweet. Matt woke up early and came to fix me breakfast but since we were going to have a huge lunch, I told him I didn't want to eat breakfast.

Later, they took me to the Melting Pot where we feasted on some yummy food. I've only been a time or two so it was a lot of fun. We were so stuffed when we left so we went to walk it off with some shopping. It was a great day!

Crazy Bird

For a little over a week now, on a daily basis, this red bird pecks at the windows and tries to get in the house. It will peck at the glass or screen several times before giving up and trying a different window and then he'll fly away. He usually tries at the bay windows in the back but has moved to Matt's office upstairs and then this morning, the front door. It's pretty funny to watch this one persistent bird. I did capture him a couple of times before he was scared off.

Some more firsts

Today was Chani's first dance recital and she was just adorable. We ordered their costumes way back at the end of last year and still had to return it and get a smaller one. Once we got it, we were set to go. It even came with its own bow!
Who would have thought that her dance recital would make me such a nervous wreck?! I packed her stuff and was ready to go earlier than I needed to. Camera, flash, video camera, costumes, all charged and packed. Once we got to the place, we changed into her first costume only to find out that I FORGOT THE BOW! How could I forget the bow? But, Amanda came to the rescue and located a spare with the generosity of a previous dancer. Now, we were set to go. All the girls gathered and walked to be photographed but I'm not even sure they got a shot. A couple of them were scared and crying. I thought for sure Chani would be the one crying but she was an angel. We then corralled them into the hall behind the stage and waited for our cue when another first happened.

A woman (Hi Shari!) came up to me and asked me if I was Kathy. I told her I was and she recognized me from my blog. She also mentioned knowing Susan. This was the first time this has happened. Her little girl is a couple years older and was just adorable in her costume.

The girls went up on stage and went to their numbers. Chani was concentrating so hard on staying on it but she did pretty well. I was so very proud of her and fighting back the tears. I felt like a complete idiot for crying but my baby was up there dancing and I was just so dang proud. When they walked off the stage, all the moms went back there and most of them were crying to so I felt a bit better.

We went to our room, changed costumes and went back out for our tap dance. No tears on this one and the girls were all over the stage. They had the audience laughing. it was adorable. All the girls received their own engraved "toe fee" (trophy) and a lollipop. I don't think she has ever had one so she didn't know what they were. When I told her it was candy, the lit up. Too cute!

We ran into Rachel and she had another little Chinese girl in her class so we went to meet them. It was quite a day.

Yesterday, we went to her first pool party. Of course, I forgot our swimsuits. What is it with me forgetting everything now? I didn't used to be this forgetful. Anyway, Natalie came to the rescue and had a spare suit of Savannah's that we were able to use so at least Chani was able to get wet. Our first swim of the season. Chani had a blast and didn't want to go. She sat down on the ground and threw a fit. "No Mama, I don't want to. I don't want to go home." Over and over again. I just let her cry it out. She rarely does this and thankfully it is short lived.

She is growing so fast and changing into her own little person. She has opinions now and carries on conversations. She tells me if she wants two pigtails or one. She knows what she likes to eat and knows her name, "taine e" She can't quite get the Ch sound yet. She's a loving little girl and warms up to most everyone. She has been the perfect match for us. I love her so very much.

I rarely have time to post anymore. I feel like I have tons to write about but it just takes too long to upload photos, sort through all the thoughts, wondering what people would want to hear and what would be just gibberish and get it all down in half way coherent sentences. Not to mention my lack of proper paragraphing. I never did learn to do that right. Oh well, it is what it is.

Oh, and one last thing, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA!!


Professional Picture Day - These are obviously not them.



Pool Party



The girl loves Legos! I've never seen her play with them like this.



All but one of the girls waiting to go on stage



Cute Little Tushies



My precious ballerina



My precious cowgirl

Many ramblings

Just some ramble thoughts.
We were at the park the other day.
There was a mud puddle and she thought it would be fun to stick her head in it. I have no idea why.

She was so proud of her muddy hands.

I've also completed a sample board of my bows. I've posted about them over HERE in case anyone is interested.

I've packed my bags and am ready to go visit my Grandma. This will be Chani's first visit with her and a few other family members who have yet to meet her. I'm a bit anxious about traveling alone with her. Matt is staying at home this time so it will be just Chani and me. Hopefully everything will run smoothly. We're also going to meet some bloggy buds, Michael and Kimberly. They are from a small town that my Dad grew up in and they actually know some of my extended family. Can't wait to finally meet them! They brought Miaya home not quite a year ago.

We also plan on spending a day in Kansas City. My cousin and nephew both live there so we're going to have lunch with one and dinner with the other one, in between a discovery kids museum and the zoo. It is going to be a fun filled fast vacation. I almost wish that I had another couple of days.