My Serious Painter

Kaylin loves to get out the paints and do a little creating. The other day I turned around and caught her standing on the bench creating one of her many masterpieces. I got James to quickly take a few pics. Unfortunately he missed her in full excited face mode but these pics are still pretty cute.

Helpful Hints 1

When I come across a helpful hint that's actually helpful I want to share. Life can be so crazy and anything that helps me gain some sanity (or just a few extra minutes in the day) I want to try. I've listed a few below. If any of my friends out there have helpful ideas to share - please do!

1-My mom emailed me the other day with an old newspaper posting from Heloise regarding housework. The theory revolved around the number 5. One idea was to do things for 5 minutes at a time. For example - spend 5 minutes tidying up or give the bathroom a five minute refresher. Another idea was to choose to do 5 things a day. I actually had a friend years ago give me this idea as well. So that is the one I am trying. Today my five included bathroom cleaning, thorough kitchen cleaning, laundry (I counted this as two items because I washed 2 loads and folded 4), and posting in this blog. Since I am doing the last one now - I have completed my tasks. Yeah. I can relax now and enjoy precious time with my family (without worrying about things I didn't do). Other chores will be there tomorrow.

2-When I get out an onion to chop up for some recipe. I tend to go ahead and chop up the whole thing at once. This way I can throw them into any other recipe whenever I need them. For example - sometimes I fry up some frozen hashbrowns for breakfast. I toss in a few chopped onions for extra flavor (with none of the extra work). I could do the same with bell pepper. Sometimes if they're chopped already I'll add a yellow or orange one to my salad. Adds a nice flavor.

3-When I have two small loads of laundry that can't be washed together I'll still combine them in the dryer since there is plenty of room. That way the dryer only has to run once.

4-I like looking through magazine for all sorts of ideas. I used to keep the magazines laying around. Now I just rip out the pages I want (recipes, decor ideas, etc) and get rid of the rest. Saves lots of space. I put the pages in a file or recipe book.

5-For easily adding a paragragh space in your blog type the less than sign, p, than the greater than sign.

I'd love to hear any hints you may have to share.

Christmas photos 2009

Hi everyone - It's obvious from my blog that I'm either a slacker or the holidays have been a fairly busy time for me. I prefer to think it's the later. We had a nice, mellow Christmas here in Colorado with the Gage clan. Santa was very generous and Kaylin had a great time. Below are a few pictures of our day.

The first picture is of Kaylin in her new twirly whirly dress. It's one of the specific things she asked Santa for when he visited her preschool. Fortunately her Aunt Shelli has a direct line to Santa. She loves it (as if you couldn't tell).

Mommy and Kaylin in their matching shirts. Ahhh! How long do you think I'll be able to get away with that?

Kaylin with Grandma. Kaylin's wearing a necklace that Santa got her (the other item she specifically requested from him). I'm glad Santa's on top of things.

I hope you had a great Christmas and a happy new year. May the future hold many many blessings for all of you.

A Note To My Darling Daughter

Kaylin -

The other day there were two events each a day apart where I was reminded of how truly wonderful and special you are. I've told you how proud I am of you but I wanted to put the thoughts down on paper (so to speak). Although you can't read this yet, someday you will be able to and I hope it brings a warm fuzzy to your heart.

So - what were these two events? Well, the first one was your parent-teacher conference. Your teacher (Mrs. Carlson) explained to me how well you are doing both academically and socially. She said many times how intelligent you are (not that I didn't already know that). It was great, though, to hear it from your teacher. She told me how much you enjoy art and music. This didn't surprise me either. You are very creative. You love to dance and work on craft projects. And you've become and excellent color-er. Your teacher said you respect her authority and are very attentive and well-behaved. You, also, participate in all the activities. But - the best thing for me to hear her say was that you are a great example to the other kids. Believe me, these are words every parent wants to hear. Oh - I know it's only pre-school but I like the direction you are heading. You are doing a great job!

The day after you conference you came with us to a Thanksgiving lunch with the Orchard City Ladies Club and their families. There were no kids other than you. And well, the closest people to your age were your mom and dad. Daddy and I were helping in the kitchen and you were left to entertain yourself. You were not the least bit bothered by your circumstances. You didn't come whining to me that you were bored. You didn't ask if we could go home or when we were going home. Instead you entertained yourself as well as other guests. I watched you have no problem going over to talk to a group waiting for the meal to begin. This group was made up of people mostly over the age of 70. It didn't matter to you that they couldn't (or wouldn't) "play" with you. You talked to them, had mini-conversations with them and they were delighted with your presence. At one point I looked over and saw you sitting on the floor showing them how you can tie your shoes. They all thought you were adorable - and frankly, who can argue with them? There are many kids your age (5 for the record) that wouldn't have acted so graciously. Thank you, Peanut, for your sweetness.

Your Daddy and I are so proud of you. You are awesome!!

Love,

Mommy

My Little Cowgirl

Kaylin is getting a real taste of the country life since we've moved to Colorado. This year was the first time she wanted to dress up like a cowgirl for Halloween. This is a huge departure from the standard "princess". Well - she has a pink cowgirl hat so, in theory, she's a princess cowgirl. She had a good time dressing up. Her preschool class walked along main street and collected goodies from local merchants (try to do that in the big city). She even got her picture taken for the county paper.

The other night she was off to another adventure. Our friends and neighbors have several horses as well as a pony. They often try to get their son, Tucker, to ride but he's not into it right now. Thinking that seeing Kaylin ride his pony might change his mind, we took her over for a ride. He remained disinterested but Kaylin thoroughly enjoyed herself. Below are a few pics. It was getting dark (well - really it was only about 5pm but the flash on the camera makes it look much darker) so I only got a few shots. But you can see that she was having a great time. And - yes - that's a bicycle helmet she's wearing. Standard issue for the younguns'. And - yes - she wants a pony for Christmas.

Kaylinism VI

The other day on the way home from school I told Kaylin that we were going to go over to Tucker's (friend) house that evening. She responded by saying "I've got a headache and I think I'm going to have it for a really long time." This was funny in itself but I felt the need to dig. I asked her "What does that mean?" To which she responded with the following question. "What does it mean when you get headaches?"

Oh my goodness - I laughed hard. Where does she come up with these zingers. Although she didn't really understand the zinger. I kept laughing and she kept asking me to tell her what it meant. It looses some of its humor when I have to explain that having a headache actually means your head hurts. Someday she'll figure out some people just use it as an excuse (or then again maybe she already gets that). BTW - She always has fun playing with Tucker and she did that evening as well.

Mid-October update

Yes - I know it's been awhile since I've written anything in my blog. James, Kaylin and I have been gone. Last week we took a drive out to Lake Havasu, Arizona to visit family. It was my first time in AZ (other than the Phoenix airport) and I looked forward to the new adventure. Although I think Arizona has it's own kind of beauty it is definitely not a place I'd want to live (vacation maybe but not live). I am a girl that loves and needs color (green especially). I suppose having lived in the lushness of Washington spoiled me a bit. Now everywhere I go just looks likes its lacking in trees and flowers. Upon our return to Colorado - we were struck with the beauty of the changing leaves. Yellow, orange, red and green everywhere we looked. They are beautiful. I just wish they would stay that way throughout winter. I find it to be a sad look when there are no leaves on trees. Oops - I wondered off the subject. Back to the vacation. One day we went out on the Lake in the boat. It was Kaylin's first time on a boat. You should have seen her face. I'd show you a picture if we hadn't forgotten to take our camera. Her mouth was wide open (as were her eyes) and her arms up in the air as the wind blew at her face and hair. She loves being in the blowing wind for some reason. The water was a little cold but that didn't stop her from playing in it. She threw rocks, found seashells and simply splashed around. It was a joy to watch her excitement. Sadly for a good portion of our trip Kaylin had a fever and cough. I tried not to panic over fears of H1N1. Thankfully, we gave her Tylenol and her fever left. We're still working on the cough though. A few days later she got another adventure. We took the 4-wheelers out for a ride. Kaylin (with helmet on) got to ride with her Aunt Lee and I took my turn on one by myself. I could maybe get used to having some of those. Vacation is over now and we must get back to reality. Ahh - bummer.