As Good As It Gets

This weekend was truly about as good as it gets. The weather was phenomenal! Perfect San-Diego style weather...ahhhhhh! I had to work on Saturday, but it was a very light day, and Barry and the kids just dropped me off and went to run a couple of errands and then came back to get me. Noah fell asleep in the car, which is something we have come to appreciate, since he stays asleep when you move him to his bed. Isn't he just too sweet?


We got lots of projects finished outside...cleaning out the chicken pen, buying mulch, putting in annuals, planting trees, mowing, and yadda yadda yadda....
Barry spent some time on Sunday just playing with the kids while I planted the flowers out front. They broke out the new kite Kendall got Barry for his birthday and then laid in the hammock watching it float on the breeze. Noah just entertained himself with his trucks, a pile of gravel, and a tub of water.


Kendall also had an exciting find...a pair of tree frogs that have housed themselves in the trim of our side door. We also found one that had made a little home for himself in our bird feeder. No wonder the birdseed wouldn't come out! She was just beside herself when she got this one to hop on her arm...she said it felt funny that his feet were like sticky suction cups!


Hope you all had a great weekend as well! Welcome Spring!!!

Happy Birthday Barry!

Thirty-five years ago today the world was changed for the better.

Barry was born.

Never have I known someone with a straighter moral compass, a stronger drive to do the best job possible, or such an unwavering need to do the right thing every time...no questions asked. He is truly one of a kind, and the kids and I know how fortunate we are to have him as the foundation of this family. He is kind, fair, loving, playful, responsible, and romantic. What more could we ask for?

Happy Birthday, Barry! You are the best! We love you!

A New Craft!

Last night Sheri and I went to my friend Kathy's house to learn a new craft...

BEADING.

Kathy is a bead freak. She sounds like one of those computer geeks when she's talkin' beads. You hear a whole lot of words coming out of her mouth, but you don't know what the heck she's talking about! That girl can bead anything... and does! So we headed over to her house to pick her up and then promptly went to Bed Bath & Beyond (home of the 20% off coupon) to pick out servingware. Once we made it out of there, we headed to Michaels for our beading essentials. I picked out some awesome beads that have the same colors as my dishes, so I was really excited about that. We could hardly wait to get started!

When we got to Kathy's, she told us that we wouldn't believe how easy it all was, but we didn't really believe her. Not at all, actually. But we each beaded a bottle opener and also each made 2 pairs of earrings. Check them out! I am so impressed with myself, I can hardly stand it!


We also picked up some servingware to bead as well, but Kathy didn't have enough wire for us to do it just then. No biggie. I can see that I will be having to find time to do this more often anyway, so I can do it later! Ooooooo, I can see some cool new projects in the works!

Don't you just love it when you learn how to do something new? Especially when you learn how to make something? I just get so geeked up! Crafting is so much fun!

3 Great Friends, 4 Great Days!

This past weekend was the best of the year so far...hands down.

Sarah was here in the States for 4 fun-filled days! Our little Cannuck has been gone far too long, and we were soooo happy to have her here! The kids headed to Grandma's house for the weekend, which they were none to unhappy about, and we headed out on the town. For a whole entire weekend, I got to just be one of the girls...not Mommy, not Jen the Massage Therapist. Just Jen, part of the Sarah-Jen-Sheri trifecta. It was so much fun!

We did all the girl things...shopping, eating, drinking, laughing, beautifying, and most of all, TALKING. The talking did NOT stop through any of the aforementioned activites. And may I add that the eating and drinking made us talk even faster and about more random topics! I'm not sure you have ever heard 3 girls talk so fast and loud. Sarah holds the record though. Sometimes I find myself looking at her mouth when she's talking because I can't believe how fast it is moving and how clear her diction is at the same time. I get anxious because it seems like she won't ever take a breath and I'm worried she'll suffocate on all those words that obviously NEED to come out! You really must experience it to understand!

But we love her and miss her. And let me just say that the good ol' US of A is just not as much fun without her. Canada definitely got the best end of the bargain on that one. So, what is there to do but start planning our next get-together?

How's the airfare to Canada look these days?

Kindergarten Romance

Kendall has been talking alot lately about how she and this boy in her class, Christian, are in love... and you must say that last part with feeling, rolling your eyes up to the ceiling, and cooing. Lord.

Anyway, on Tuesdays I volunteer in Kendall's classroom reading with the kids. She and I part ways going into the building, as I have to go to the office to get my visitors badge and she has to go line up in the gym. Anyway, because of this parting, I end up in her classroom before she does.

So this Tuesday, I am up in her classroom chatting with her teacher when she comes bounding in with the rest of her class, pigtails flying, grinning from ear to ear. She runs up to me and says,

"Mama, look what Christian brought me today! He LOOOVES me!"

It was a carnation...or at least the top part. It had been popped off its stem. I said,

"Wow, Kendall! That was really nice!"

By now all the kids are excited and whispering...this was the talk of the classroom! So Cameron, a little boy who also likes Kendall, comes up to me and says,

"Mrs. Kuck, did you see what Christian gave Kendall? He says he's in love with her, but I'm in love with her!" Awww! Lucky little girl!

Anyway, Kendall's teacher comes over and asks me what is going on and I so I tell her. She laughed and said that this drama between who Kendall should choose has been going on for about 2 months and she figured now she should probably nip it in the bud, as more budding romances were starting to show up. So I watched her walk over to Christian and pull him over to talk to him. She asked him if he liked Kendall and he said yes. She asked him if he brought her a flower, and he smiled and said yes. She told him how sweet that was and told him he is such a nice boy. Then she explained to him that they are all just good friends and there shouldn't be any LOVE going on. When she finished up talking to him, she walked over to me, and could scarcely contain her giggles. I asked why she was laughing. Do you know what she said????

"He's wearing cologne..."

Heaven help me.

Wanted: The Cookie Bandit!

Yesterday I decided we had to make cookies.

Anything to put a positive spin on an otherwise yucky day.

We decided on good ol' chocolate chip. YUM! We whipped 'em up and I must say, they are VERY tasty!

So, we were in the basement cleaning up and I ran upstairs to check on Noah. As I came into the kitchen, all I could see over the bar was a little hand coming down from the rack where the cookies were cooling. I started laughing when I saw what was going on....

My little monkey had snuck into the kitchen and reached up to steal a cookie...but not without a plan! Oh no....he definitely had a plan.

He had taken one of the cookies lingering a little too close to the edge and pulled it down to take a bite. Not just any bite, mind you, but the tiniest bite you've ever seen. Then, he slyly put it right back up there. In fact, if I hadn't come in at just that particular moment, he would have gotten away scot-free! I am still in awe of the tiny little bite. He is a smart cookie, that one! (no pun intended!)

SO, needless to say, the Cookie Bandit has been caught. But he's so sweet that he probably won't have to serve his entire sentence!

A Brand New Room!

The Bug is so exicted....

We finally bought her new bed and got her room all rearranged...decluttered and weeded out. It was a job, but totally worth it! We have a stack of stuffed animals to donate to SAFE and a small pile of toys to go to Grandma Cindy's house. (Won't she be thrilled!) We went through her baskets of books and weeded out all of the ones that she is much too old for and gave them to Noah...and he was totally pleased with that arrangement! That sweet little boy is really into his books lately. Books, puzzles, and cars...that's all he wants to play with!

Anyway, now Kendall's room is befitting of a six year old. We moved her bookshelf right beside her bed and put her reading lamp on it so she can sit in bed and read if she wants. That was a big selling point, let me tell ya! She really likes her room now, and so do I! Let's just see if she likes it enough to keep it clean...

My next project is to weed out my closet. That should be fun... NOT!

We are also on schedule to move Noah into the daybed and see how he does with that. We are dragging our feet a little, of course, because there is no going back once we start that! And I also have to start going through the kids' dressers and closets to get rid of outgrown things and replace them with new spring attire. Lots of fun around here! Wanna come and help????

In Denial...

I am in denial.

Last week we went from 80 and sunny to a high of 40 OVERNIGHT.

We have been having snow flurries on and off for days.

I am in denial that spring is being delayed. SO, in honor of my denial, here are some pictures from that beautiful week we had.

The first picture is of a nest Kendall found outside...we are assuming the eggs belong to a kildeer. She was so pleased with herself for having found it! I'm sure she'll be keeping an eye on it for little chicks.


These next two pics are of Kendall and Noah playing outside and loving it. Bary was laying grass seed and planting trees while I was on kid duty. We had so much fun. Kendall is totally into baseball right now, so we let her hit for a while...all while taking a break every so often to get Noah out of the chicken coop. He is obsessed with the chickens and their pen! He is also really into climbing the "rock" wall into the little treehouse. And check out his hat! We knew Grandpa Tom would dig that. And Noah thinks it is so cool... he's always looking for his hat!


On Saturday, Dad and Taffy and Luke came out to the house because we had plans for dinner at the Fish Market. See, my birthday was Saturday, Taffy's was Sunday, and Dad's 60th was Monday. So we had a bit of celebrating to do! Dinner was great, especially since we got three free desserts! And for the record, 3 desserts at the Fish Market is more than enough for 6 people! Afterward, we headed to Jessie's, and then out to our house. The last picture is at Jessie's.

Of course, Sunday, the Easter Bunny paid a visit to our house, but he had to hid the eggs inside, since it was so miserable outside. Uncle Luke was talkin' trash about how he was going to get more eggs than Kendall, but I think she had more! Other than that, we had a lazy Sunday. At some time or another, everyone laid down for a little catnap...AHHHHH.

What a great weekend. Food, fun, and family. It doesn't get much better, does it??