THE FUN-DRAISER BEGINS!

At last, the fundraiser to help little Anna Grace come home has begun! Please visit the Kreuer Chronicles Fundraiser page to donate! They have a zillion amazing prizes and a wicked auction as well. Their family has been through so much in the last seven months, losing their beautiful daughter MJ in a tragic accident after being home from China just months! The Kreuer's had just accepted the referral of Anna Grace when MJ had her accident...any help you can give them will make the world of difference!

Share the love, post the fundraiser widget(in sidebar) on your blog in support!

For MJ and Anna Grace

GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUH-UN

MY LITTLE PINK PUNKIE SNOWFLOWER

SCARED? I saw this story on the TODAY show this morning and I was GOBSMACKED (as they say in the UK!)...this has got to be one of the most insane cases of idiocy I have ever heard...apparently a controversy has arisen over one of the BBC's new children's television hosts. Not because she was a stripper or sold meth out of her Covent Garden flat...but because she has a limb difference on one of her arms and SOME parents are complaining that their children will be 'scared' by this!
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
I'm shocked...this is idiotic and pathetic. For a country that notoriously and historically has not pandered to the ideal that only 'pretty' people be in films and on television this is a travesty. Good on Cbeebies for hiring a talented and bubbly presenter regardless of whether or not she has a disability...and SHAME on the parents who take the time to complain to the BBC rather than explain to their children that 'normal' includes ALL people..all shapes, sizes, colors and abilities. I know we have this conversation all the time with our girls...they might be curious when they see someone with a noticeable disability, but they have never been SCARED!

I'm glad the BBC is handling this in such an informative and honest way.

MY PRESIDENT ROCKS!

I'm so glad that we finally have a competent and eloquent President!
His address to Congress last night was inspiring.
The only thing missing was a minor lack of 'more cowbell'...but eh, we can't expect miracles!
I also figured out who GOP responder Gov Jindal was channeling last night...oh dear.

PICK A PACK OF PRETTY PEPPA'S

Today I ordered a pack of Peppa Pig knickers from the UK. I couldn't resist these as they are so sweet and since they will be Paisley's first undies I wanted something special! That's right...Miss Paisley will be trying out undies in the Spring as she has been consistently peeing and pooing on the potty for quite some time! I had rather a tough time finding them, because Paisley's wee bum is about as tiny as they come, and underpants in the USA start at age 2/3T which is what Piper is still wearing! My solution is to buy undies online, or to bribe friends in England to send me pack of Marks & Spencer's wonderful knickers(they have them in 18 month sizes)!

Piper was in undies at 16 months during the day and at night by 18 months. It's taken Paisley a little longer which is just fine, as I believe they let you know when they are ready....and Paisley LETS ME KNOW! She comes up to me and says "Mum-Meee...I need go poo" or "Pee on poddy Mum-Mee"....awwwww, the kid is MAGNIFICENT! I'm so proud! We go through about 1-2 g-diaper liners a day, just with little 'squizzles' here and there, so I think she is ready....we just have to wait for nicer weather...I'm thinking May...I'm hoping May, lets put it that way! I do love the way Paisley tells me she needs to go...she puts her own "poddy seat" up on the big potty, all I need to do is pop her on there...oh...and she wont be COMPLETELY potty trained for some time, as I still do the all important wipe! TMI?....sorry bout that!

Where Narnian's and Hobbits'es and I call HOME

On Friday night Mike & I watched the second movie in the Narnia series, Prince Caspian...and one scene in particular made me yearn for a little bit of my very own Narnia. The next time we make it to New Zealand we will be hoofin' it down to Hahei and to Cathedral Cove for a week of magical Narnia-ness. I'm glad they filmed the movie in New Zealand...but boy it does make me ache for home.

Narnia's porthole is only accessible by an hour long hike or by kayak....none of the bus'n'snap crowd at all! The water is clear and clean, and the town is void of 'touristy' crap and t-shirt shops...in fact, on the road in you can stop and pick up locally farmed veges and fruit from a roadside stand with an old ice cream container 'honesty box'!

I wonder if C.S.Lewis himself could ever have thought of a better place for the Narnian's to live? I think J.R.R Tolkien would probably have been quite content knowing all his Hobbits'es were happily residing down under in Godszone.

Pretty soon...the girls will have citizenship to New Zealand, I'm glad they will be in such good company!

Bend it like Beckham!
Mike is so proud! At last Piper is old enough for our local soccer team! He's even signed up to Coach which will be a BLAST! Piper is SUPERDUPER excited and I cannot wait to get her itsy bitsy size 9.5 soccer cleats in the mail! Size 9.5 folks...the girl has TINY feet!

Oh how I do covet thee

It's not a healthy obsession by any means...but I love Matilda Jane...I do...I adore them...the girls look awesome in their comfy punky hotchpotchy eyecatchy clothes and one day I hope that I will fit some of their 'Mommy' clothes....oh to dream. Their Spring line is due to be released on March 1 and Mike has limited me to one outfit each...ooooh, but which one? I know for sure...one of the girls will be sporting this funky number someday soon. It feels all Pippi Longstockings to me...and I love me some sassy Swedish punkmuffin anyday! Hmmm...the red shoes are tempting too!

If you look at their website under last seasons dresses, you might even see one of the Snowflowers...she's rocking the westside knot dress

THE WINDOW TO HER SOULHow I wish I knew what she was thinking

PHOTO CIRCA SUMMER 2008

Our sweet sweet girl, how much we love you...even when you are struggling to find your way, to find the answers for all those questions, WE WILL ALWAYS BE THERE to hold you, to love you...to embrace you and honor you. You are wise beyond your years...you have an old soul my love. You are cherished, you are NEVER alone...you are safe, loved, adored. You hold our hearts in your hand.

When you are 4 life can be so confusing.

Days of the Week

PIPER-STYLE

Monday

Tuesday

Friendsday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Seventhday

I cannot wait to hear her take on the months of the year!

Why we LOVE Charlie and Lola!

There are many reasons why we love the Charlie and Lola books and DVD's but these two books are just great! Why? They address two very important topics...recycling and the preservation of the planets resources, and FAIRTRADE products and how we can help farmers in developing nations protect and preserve their interests by purchasing products where the farmers and workers receive fair and just prices for their wares.

Thank You Charlie and Lola!

The Princess and the Pea

Once upon a time in a land not so far away, lived a tiny young Princess...she was the sweetest child in all the land, with skin as fair as the Arctic snow, and eyes as dark and rich as espresso(c'mon guys, this is a modern fairy tale!)

One day, not so long ago, the Princess decided that she was far too old and far too fancy to sleep in a crib, so she flung herself out of it in an attempt to procure a far more suitable sleeping arrangement. Of course the King and Queen of the Land were so surprised by the misadventures of their youngest Princess that they immediately began the search for a bed fit for their little Snowflower. When the Queen of the Land spotted the perfect one on Ye olde Craigslist, she ran to the King (actually she emailed him) and together they decided that this was the perfect bed for their Sweet Pea. It was not too big or too small but just right.

Even the Princesses older sister agreed...because it looked so much like her own!

The oldest princess even helped to choose her sister's bedding, insisting that they had the same! At night, after the Princessess had bathed and dressed in their nightclothes, the oldest took time to read bedtime stories to her little sister

Obviously...they're pretty good stories!

Good night sweet Snowflower...we love you!

no peas were harmed in the telling of this tale

p.s. Paisley is sporting a rather lovely scratch on her cheek...don't worry, this was not from falling out of her bed!

GREAT WORDS THAT TRANSCEND TIME

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the workwe are in, to bind up the Nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all Nations"

President Abraham Lincoln - inagural address March 4, 1865

"yes we can"

President Barack H.Obama - 2008

I WANT ONE!

I do...I really do...and just so you don't think I'm some kind of Stepford wife that loves to vacuum and do laundry(snort), I'm not, and my loving husband will attest to that quite vehemently!

For our 9th Anniversary, this is what I want...I don't want jewels and baubles...clothes, shoes, flowers or wine...I just want a clothesline. Does that make me weird?

I know a lot of communities don't allow outside clotheslines due to the aesthetic issues they have with them, but honestly, I think we are going to have to rethink this tactic and consider the environmental impact of air drying our clothes as opposed to using electricity.

This is the Hills Hoist 400

I think the investment will pay us back within the year!

p.s. I wonder if that guy comes with the clothesline?

COLOR MY WORLD war paint

wash me caught RED handed

a prayer to the paint gods

SQUELCH

Paisley loves to paint as much as Piper does..can you tell?

HERDING CATS...in pink tights!

I know I've said this before but quite honestly a room full of two, three and four year olds trying to dance in time to music is like herding cats. In the beginning I wondered why there were three teachers for 10 children, now I know...and it's not enough! Piper loves it though. Paisley likes watching....but I think she REALLY wants to join in!

p.s. Piper is the shortest one in the front row...oh, and push pause on the music in the sidebar to hear the chaos!

For a country with 20% of the worlds population is it really okay for us to use 80% of the worlds resources? Is it really okay for us to have families that are 10-12-14+ children while other countries implement family size mandates and enforce them brutally? Maybe it's just me...but do we REALLY need to breed so furiously when there are MILLIONS of orphans in the world without parents? I applaud those with 'larger' families that were built through biology AND adoption, but those who choose to reproduce so irresponsibly just make me cringe.

The woman who gave birth to OCTUPLETS this month is case and point of such irresponsibility...no I don't judge her because she chose to have babies while being single, there are plenty of wonderful single parents raising healthy well adjusted children...but seriously, who puts their life at risk by implanting so many embryos at once, who puts the lives of EIGHT babies at risk and who puts the welfare of the SIX children at home at risk...

INSANE

these women have more people pass through them than Heathrow at Christmas time!

does GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY mean anything?

weekend update SNL style

Yesterday I had a Doctors appointment and the Snowflowers came along. The fifteen minutes in the waiting room turned into a skit from Saturday Night Live for some reason, with Piper sitting down to a copy of 'Highlights' magazine, making a fuss and tossing it down on the table and saying

"Mummy, I actually need something more serious to read"

which got a few smirks from the fellow waiters, what put the icing on the cake was when she turned to the lady behind the desk and asked

"do you have any SCIENCE magazines?"

HELLO people...SCIENCE? I have absolutely no idea where she got this from...and as much as I loved science um, lets just say we don't get any periodicals beyond Esquire and Car & Driver!

Meanwhile, Paisley is pointing at the magazine rack saying 'oBama, oBama' pointing at a picture of our commander & chief

(still feels good to say that) when the older lady at the counter leans over to me and says

"what language is she speaking, is it English or is it from...you know where she is from"....

and here's my SNL moment....

"She said Obama, she's looking at the magazine with his picture on it, so I guess if you are asking what language she is speaking I would say....she is speaking the language of HOPE"

now...I'm not usually THAT quick, but honestly, she handed that one to me on a silver platter.

I did get applause, which is surprising since we live in a pretty Republican area... but I guess it's about timing.

MOTHER SUCKER!

So...you've probably guessed by the picture above that we are the proud new owners of what seems like the worlds most expensive vacuum cleaner! We 'agreed' to a demonstration because our next door neighbor who is also Piper's Principal referred us to the sales people for this particular brand of household sucker. I'm a cynic, I always have been...I question EVERYTHING. However, I remember friends in California owned one of these, and it was great...so hey, I thought why not, lets give the poor sod a break and let him clean our carpet for free and we'll be done.

NOT SO FAST!

The sales guy turned up at 1.30 in the afternoon...he showed me all the nifty gadgets and solid craftsmanship and warbled on about the amazing warranty and to be honest, I can sift the wheat from the chaff so I gleamed the useful information from the sales banter...and before you knew it it was 4.45! Yep, three hours had passed! Mike came home early to take Piper to ballet and the guy was still in our house...salivating that the 'breadwinner' had now arrived! Of course Mike is no pushover, he is a shrewd and calm customer who actually deals with Salespeople most of his day, so he's all too familiar with the 'A.B.C.' pitch. Funnily enough...Mike took a wee trip down memory lane and told me of all the times the 'Kirby' salesperson had done demonstrations for his Mom & Dad when he was a nipper....and how he knew his Mom had wanted one but it was 'never the right time'. So...after a few more hours...yes HOURS...we got ourselves a Kirby! We did a triple trade...our 9 year old Kenmore, a 5 year old Bissel steam cleaner and a set of JBL speakers and center channel(which Mike had been planning to sell)...so we dropped the list price by more than 50%!

Now don't get me wrong...this isn't exactly the 'right time' for us to be making a purchase like this, but our vacuum was nearing it's final days and the conversation about a new one had already taken place. We feel buying a quality item that will last us until our kids go to college is a better investment than buying several lower quality ones in the same amount of time..it's a recycling thing.

Mike just hopes this makes me want to vacuum!

you would not believe the CRAP that that thing got out of our carpet!

of things to come?

good grief...she's shutting herself in her own locker...I told her, she'd have plenty of time in High School for such enjoyment...sometimes probably not by choice!

FIELD TRIP NUMERO UNO

Piper's pre-school class had their first field trip this past week...to the 'Pizza Ranch'...I know, I know, It's not the Smithsonian or the Guggie, but she is four so we'll let it slide this time! In fact, it turned out to be rather an enjoyable trip, after all, who doesn't like baking their own pizzas at 9.30 in the morning! Piper was a little downcast because she didn't ride the bus with the other kids, but since we had Paisley along for the ride I was able to explain that it would be safer for all three of us if we went in the car.

The pizza guy
the massive mixer was mesmerizing

the fridge....brrr, still...not as cold as outside ironically!

The kids split into two teams to do kitchen duty, the pizza guys were really fun and taught the children all about how pizza is made...y'know, so our kids don't think there is a magical 'pizza fairy' that knocks on our door once a week with a big brown box! They saw how ingredients were measured, dough was mixed, rolled and spiked(the boys all seemed to like the medieval tool that had that job!)...then the children got to make their own little pizzas...put them in the oven and watch them come out!

mmmm...pizza good

more?...MORE!

a smile for mummy!

I NO LIKE SNOW

I took Paisley and Piper outside the other day...Piper loves the snow, but poor ole Paisley...she no like-y. Why no gloves you ask? She rips them off and throws them to the ground with a flourish fit for a dramaqueen at least twice her age(yeah, I'm referencing her bIg sis' here)...I think Paisley was supposed to live in Hawaii....actually, I think Mummy was too!