Mental Note to Self: Don't Eat Kapitz Cookies

Since we were snowed in, we made our Christmas Cookies this weekend. I determined that it is a good thing that I don't give any cookies away to anyone. None of you would want them after watching this video. The sad thing is that I didn't get Chloe on video frosting them the way she did most of the time...by using her hand instead of the knife. So scoop up frosting, lick hand, smear it on the cookie, lick hand, smear on cookie. Yummy.

I Need a Bath

I had to take a picture of this lovely, smiling little girl. (She is saying "cheeeeeeeeeeese") Her hair is a mess, she is full of sidewalk chalk - face, hands, feet ,legs, arms, and she kind of smelled a little bit. And she was hungry. I know what you're wondering - does Kari feed & clean her children?!?!?!? Of course I do - eventually.

A Painted House

Last Friday, Monday & Tuesday we had our house painted! I needed some color in my life, so we decided to paint. Tina from Creative Edge came out to help me with colors, and we hired a guy to do all of the painting. I loved doing it that way, he was awesome! Above is the new bedroom colors. They match the comforter.

The rest of these are angles of the living area. (I was going to do before pics, but I wasn't in the mood to mess with blogger to get it to do it how I wanted.)

It's like a new house all over again! I love it! Now I just need to find some new decor pieces to complete the look. Yeah!!

Wild Wolf Girl

What is that sitting at my counter? All I see is wild hair and all I hear are strange noises.

I think it is licking the bottom of the pan. Although I can't say I wasn't tempted...it was a pan of the Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls.

Oh! It's Hannah! Her hair has become uncontrollable - this was after I had brushed it earlier in the day. Whoever said that girls like pretty pony tails & clips never met my girls.

So we went and got her her first real haircut at the salon. There was a real girl under that mop! However, she now she refuses to let me wash it, because the sparkles will come out.

Rodeo Fun

We took Tyler & Hannah to the rodeo this weekend. They wanted their pictures by the baby horses, but the mama horses kept them hidden and would only show us their backsides (you can kind of see that in the picture). So we settled for the "meanest looking bulls". As you can see, they really didn't want to get too close to them.

Tyler was too funny. He didn't want to get too close to any bull, because "Mom! I'm wearing red! They might charge at me!" I really had to convince him that he was fine.

I thought these poses of him were kind of neat. I wasn't telling him to pose. He didn't even know that I was taking pictures of him. It was a fun time - and we didn't even get wet! YEAH!!

Changes & More Changes

I'm not sure I'm ready for this. I feel rushed. Chloe has never tried to get out of her crib, and so I've refused to move her to a "big girl bed". (I also have yet to take her nuk away at bedtime, but let's ignore that for now). And those pj's make her look like a boy, and as always, she has naked water baby by her side (see Joni's facebook pics for that introduction).

But I made the switch this weekend. She is now in Tyler's bed - which might explain the Spiderman bedding - which is sharing a room with Hannah. It has gone...ok. You just need to imagine the back & forth, getting out & putting her back in about 20 times. She does eventually go to sleep.

I needed to get over it and move her because this bed came out of our room and is now Tyler's. I didn't get the whole room because the crib is still wedged around the corner. I haven't been emotionally ready to take it down yet. It will be the last time we take it down - ever - and I'm not fully ready to accept the fact that my baby is that big already. It was a great bed, but it has been my bed since high school. Jon & I have been watching for a new bed...

We were fully prepared to keep waiting - we have been for what seems like forever! Bedroom sets are expensive!!! And we found this one at a garage sale last week! It was an amazing deal, that we would never, never, never would have found again. It's a king bed and it came with the box spring & mattress, night stand, and 2 full dressers with a mirror. And it is pretty new - and in great condition. I love a great garage sale find! I love the bedding I found, but now my white walls need to change. One thing at a time, that's what Jon tells me at least.

Busy Weekend

On Saturday we had a cook out to celebrate a combination of Mom's birthday and Mother's Day. This is mom with her cake that Joni made for her. Do you like the candles? I didn't have any birthday candles, so I grabbed these out of the closet. They looked like rockets, or fireworks.

Here is grandma with all of the grandkids.

And they collapsed from a long weekend. I found this too funny. We had put them to bed - in their own beds, and then when I checked on them later in the night, Hannah had moved to Tyler's bed. They had no blankets on and were curled up next to each other.

Dancing with the Stars

The kids enjoy watching Dancing with the Stars lately, although they go to bed not long after it starts. And they try to copy the dancing...try being the key word. This morning - at 7am- they were doing some "star dancing" in the kitchen. And what else would stars dance to other than "Lord I Lift Your Name on High"? I have to say, my favorite part is the last 5 seconds. Usually Chloe is right in there dancing with them, but she saw an opportunity this morning and took it. Enjoy the show.

Just When You Think You'll Lose It...

I love my children dearly. But every once in awhile, they really test my patience. Tyler has me to that point lately. Last week he ordered a dart gun at Awana with his Awana bucks. He likes to lay underneath a blanket and then shoot you as you walk past. And he likes to shoot his little sisters. I hate dart guns.

But then I witness such touching things. Like he helped Chloe find her Easter eggs at Easter. How sweet is that! (Please pay no mind to the fact that they used Halloween buckets).

And remember that dart gun...last night I saw that he filled out an order form to order ANOTHER dart gun. I went right to his classroom and asked, "why did you order another dart gun? You don't need two of those things!!" (Do you feel the frustration rising in my voice?) And he answers, "I ordered one for Hannah. She doesn't get to buy these fun things and I wanted to share with her." My whole heart melted. He spent his hard earned Awana money on Hannah - and nobody asked him to do that. It reminds me that even though I get frustrated, and have so many shortcomings as a mom, God is still working in their hearts. They are growing and maturing and becoming everything God has planned for them to be.

And I thought I would share with you all this picture that he drew last week in church for the "Pic of the Week". I found it hilarious because he took one phrase completely out of context and wrote it with totally unrelated pictures. I call it his awake dream. He wrote Moses saying, "Any women should stay at home" (huh?) And then he drew cardinals (he had been watching the Cardinals vs. Brewers) in a tree with a nest. And one fell out and died. (the bird that died when hitting mom's picture window that he helped bury & have a funeral for, although that was not a cardinal). I love that boy and am amazed and what must going through his mind.

Chloe has a favorite word right now. She says it for everything. I videotaped a little bit this weekend. This way Lisa can see & hear that she is talking now! Although it is difficult to understand - unless it's no. A no from Chloe can be goofy, naughty, sassy, kidding, angry, laughing, the possibilities are endless. I have no idea why the colors in the video keep changing, so sorry about that. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Hannah!

Today is Hannah's 5th birthday. I can not believe that she is that old already! I was looking back through pictures to post and most of my pictures of Hannah are of her eating. As she is in the picture above. She quite messy when she eats, but she never leaves behind any dessert.

Or else she is dressed so pretty and doing some crazy things.

Hannah is always on the go. She keeps us on our toes.

Here was a birthday party we had for her on Saturday. She seems angry. By looking at Tyler I'd guess he said something that made her mad and that made him laugh.

Hannah is a joy to have in our family. We can't imagine life without her. She says the craziest things, does even stranger things and makes our life complete. God has blessed us with amazing child. Happy 5th Birthday Hannah!

Hey! That's Not Fair!

This is what I saw when I walked into the bedroom this morning. Jon was using the kids for a massage! And my thought was..."Hey! That's not fair! What about me?"

He has Tyler doing his back with a massage thingy.

And the girls doing his feet with lotion! Man! Why didn't I think of this first!

Kids

I get up every morning at 6am to work out and it doesn't take too long and I have 3 others working out with me. I love that since Tyler & Hannah have weights, Chloe found her own...the Wii remotes!!! She's resourceful!

Chloe's loves to take all of her clothes off - I mean everything off. It is becoming a real issue (i.e. removing dirty diaper and I'll stop there). So, I started taping her shirt to her pants. I tuck her shirt in, and take a big roll of packing tape and tape the shirt to the pants so that she can't take either one off. It's ok - I make sure that no tape is touching any skin so that she is not hurt in any way. She's just mad.

Chloe also knows how to turn the tv on. Isn't she to young for that?

And last, Hannah said "Take my picture". So I did.

Random Shots of February

I haven't posted anything in February so I thought I would run through some random shots from the month. We took the kids ice fishing.

Tyler dropped the ice scoop down the hole. Where are the fish?

That's what Chloe thinks about ice fishing. Actually, she loved it. And she refused to be carried on the ice. She had to walk her self all the way out there and all the way back.

Is this breaking child labor laws?

It's a dark picture, but I was stuck at the end of the driveway. The kids & I had to walk up to the house. Our driveway drifts horribly and some of those drifts were over my knees while we were walking. It sat there until Jon came home to dig it out. A neighbor, Mr. Giese -remember him - used his tractor to clear out behind the van so it could go backwards. I wonder what he thinks of my driving?!??!?!

Hannah:"Can I have some 'nilla for behind my ears?"
HUH?

She loves the smell so much that she likes to wear it so she can smell it all day. Grandma told her that in the old days that's what women did for perfume. So she's "like the old days". Her facial scarring is a nice scratch from Mean Chloe. Watch out for that girl!

And that is a brief glimpse of a small part of February. I'll try to do better in March

Like Father, Like Son

After a very long week - lots of time at work; sick kids, sick parents, spending Sunday morning in the ditch waiting for a tow truck, etc, etc, etc - it was a great time watching the Vikings-Saints game. Tyler has become very interested in football. And I realized he mimics everything Jon does. And Jon is the MOST ANIMATED football player! He rolls his pants legs, unrolls them, stands up, paces, lays flat on the floor - face up then face down - stands in the kitchen, watches from around the corner, etc. And Tyler does everything he does (you can see the legs of his long underwear rolled up). And this wasn't even a Packer game!! I only wish I would have gotten more pictures.

In the end, they danced & cheered. It was a great game and we enjoyed it. Sorry to all our Viking friends & family. It was just too sweet.

Brett Favre is Missing!

Here is what I think is a hilarious true story...
The scene is Monday night and Tyler & Hannah come running out the bedroom...

Tyler: (in a super excited voice & jumping up & down) Brett Favre is missing!
Me: I'm sure he's not missing, Tyler.
Tyler: Hannah told me so!!!
Hannah, For real Mom! I heard it on the radio at grandma's! It's for real! (burst into tears) Why don't you believe me!
Tyler: Yeah mom! He's missing! YES!!! (in a sing-song voice) Now the Vikings lose! Now the Vikings lose!
They would not give it up so I called the place of the source...grandma. Iasked her for an explanation...
Me: Mom, did your radio tell Hannah that Brett Favre is missing?
Mom: What? No. Wait! (Bursts out laughing) K99 at noon had someone call in and reported Brett Favre missing. There is an number to call if you find him...

He has four legs, brown fur and answers to the name Brett Favre.

Someone lost their dog named Brett Favre! And the radio thought it was funny and kept saying, "Folks, Brett Favre is missing"

So, Hannah was kind of right, she knew what she heard, she just didn't get the full story. So Tyler was disappointed and life went on. But I thought it was hilarious - my kids crack me up! Oh yeah, Brett Favre is still missing.

Snow White plays the Wii

My dear Snow White, with a rag on your head, what are you guys doing?!?!?!?!?!




Why playing the Wii of course! Who doesn't dress like that?