Yet Another Princess!

It has been no mystery that Kacia is a "girly" girl. She hates bugs and dirt, loves make-up, anything and everything pink and has cycled through the Disney Princesses. I am pretty sure that our birthday themes are set for years to come! Her favorite currently has been Jasmine, but she is now in battle with Mulan, since it was on TV last week. (Quick side note, the Reflection song from Mulan is on our car CD, and the line where she says, "Who is that girl I see, staring straight back at me?" Kacia thinks is her! She gets so excited, "That's me, huh mom!" that I decided I can either explain that the song is about Mulan looking in a hypothetical mirror and seeing herself, or I can let my daugther be a kid, and be excited that a princess is singing about her, I chose the latter.) Anyhow, my second daughter is just as much a "girly" girl. She thinks that all the princesses names are Ariel, insists on wearing Kacia's glass slippers, despite the fact that they are huge on her, and have a slight heel, making walking quite difficult. The other day I was getting them out of the bath, had grabbed the Hello Kitty towel, and princess towel, asked Kacia which one she wanted (the princess), so I went to wrap the Hello Kitty towel around Rylin, when she said "NO, Ariel, Ariel, Ariel..." I didn't know that an 18 month could care what towel they used, but apparently, it matters to Rylin! Looks like its time for Kacia to learn the art of compromise!

Bike-A-Thon Pics

Kacia's preschool had their annual Bikeathon fundraiser last week. She was definitely the turtle on the course, not because she doesn't like to ride fast, or is incapable, but rather because she was doing her typical "Kacia Response" to a new experience= staring with her mouth open wide, looking all around, taking it all in, watching what everyone else was doing, and trying to process it all. Most of my pictures are of the back of her helmet since she was so busy watching her other classmates on their bikes! But when it was done, she claims to have enjoyed it, and I think next year will be more fun since she will know what to anticipate.

Clean, Why Bother?

So, I have decided to give myself an award. Patience, although a virtue I long to have, is not one of my strongest character traits (just ask Kacia!) but I have decided that over the last month I have earned The Patient Wife Award, or perhaps better fitting, The Patient Housekeeper Award. My husband Kevin, an incredible man, is a very hardworker, quite handy, and a perfectionist in his work, all traits I love! He has done many things to improve the homes we have lived in, installing tile floors, wood floors, etc. The projects always turn out awesome and well worth the mess and wait. And I know that his current project will really be worth it, if I survive to see the end, that is. Some of you know that we have concrete counter tops. They were one of Kevin's favorite things about the house when we bought it. But over time, they have not worn as well as they should have. So as we look at selling the house, a good friend of ours told Kevin about how we could grind, sand, and polish the concrete, the end result, showing many colors of the rocks, and a smooth glassy surface, similar to granite. Kevin was sold on the idea! So our friend came over, has graciously spent time with Kevin, teaching him the process and allowing Kevin to keep his tools here so he can work on it whenever. Well, I don't think either of us anticipated the mess it would create! For about a month now we have lived with layers of dust everywhere, the majority of our cabinets inaccessible as they are taped off, and now for over a week, no stove and our refrigerator in the middle of the kitchen! Now I love my husband, I greatly appreciate all of the hours and hard work he has put into this, and I know that if it were up to him, he'd be done, but because it creates such a mess, it is not worth working on an hour here and an hour there, and since Kevin works 7 days a week, finding large sums of hours when he can work on it are rare. So, although I am giving myself an award, it is more for the fact that I have not at all nagged or complained, and have done fairly well living in a constant mess. And as for Kevin, I will come up with an award name for him when the process is eventually done. I know that it will be well worth it, as we all know "kitchens sell houses!" But in the meantime, why clean? I tried that on Monday. In my frustration with the chaos, Monday was movie day for Kacia and I cleaned every other room in our house, but by Wednesday the "Why bother?" hit me again. If 60% is clean, it still doesn't feel clean, so I guess I will just continue to take a break from housecleaning until I can clean 100% of our house!