Patience Brings Pictures

Lots and lots of them. Please forgive the length of this post.

While in Cali, we went to the zoo. A really tiny zoo, but a zoo none the less. Easton was in LOVE with the miniature goats they had for the kids to pet.

I believe this pictures was taken shortly before Easton said "EYE!" and actually touched the goat's creepy eyeball. (Hands were then washed).

The animals weren't that exciting, so it was time to chew on sunscreen...

Look adorable...

and pound it with anyone who would give a fist.

Then we looked at a few more things with Grandma....

and Grandpa read us a book.

A few days later, Daddy and Easton went swimming (this was actually the day we flew out of Cali and mommy didn't feel like getting all chlorine-y and having to shower AGAIN. She is a party pooper).

They enjoyed it though.

until Daddy decided to push his luck and dunk Easton.

He was NOT a happy camper!

So, they sat on the steps to calm down and that did the trick.

And then they were generally cute and happy.

For the rest of the time.

Sleeping

So, while Easton did not sleep through the night until the ripe old age of 13 months, he has put himself to sleep since he was about 7 or 8 months old. Just say a prayer, give him a kiss, turn on his nightlight/mobile song thingy and shut the door.

It is fantastic!

Unfortunately, after 10 days of traveling, it has come to an end. He now SCREAMS whenever I try and carry him into his room.

He'll magically learn it all again though, right?

Summertime + KaLee =

a major lack of blogging, I apologize.

But you know what? It's kind of nice to just take a little break once in a while.

We've been busy playing in California, attending my Grandparents 50th anniversary open house and spending lots of time with lots of family.

We're loving it.

Updates and pictures will soon follow.

(I hope).

I can't just make this stuff up

So, remember how I was all excited about Adam coming home?


Well, he flew into an airport in the next big city (where Ronnie has his internship, 45 miles away).


So the whole fam drove over (Ronnie and I separately because he had a work bbq in the afternoon) to be at the airport to await Adam's 9:45 p.m. flight.


The plane was early and my family's car was running a little late, so they came bursting into the airport all commercial-like. (It was fantastic!)


We got the signs all ready, the balloons out and the kids looking good and waited for people to get off the plane.


One person gets off, then another two, then two people in wheelchairs, then another two people and then someone from the flight crew comes in (not a good sign).


Turns out he wasn't on the stinking flight.


So, I took a picture of where he SHOULD have come through the door.


And Erc and Alayna felt like this.

And Sassy and I felt the same way.

So, to spare you all of the phone calls and the unhelpful customer service people and the like, my parent's car just drove down to the Denver Airport to pick him up and Ronnie, Easton and I headed back to Laramie. (Our reasons for not going to Denver? We couldn't all fit in one car, so we would see him in the airport for about 20 minutes, then not even get to chat with him on the way home all for 4 extra hours of driving. Not so very worth it). We do love Adam though.

So, he is home, safe and sound and I have happy pictures of us all, but they are not on my camera, so you will have to wait for those.

A day of anticipation

Guess what?

My brother gets home from his mission in Guatemala today!

Hip hip hooray!

New Words

Easton's vocabulary seems to be exploding daily. Here's a little taste.

choo choo (train sound), ah boar (all aboard), Buhh (Buzz, as in Buzz Lightyear), Whooo-deee (Woody), yesh (yes), yep, wa-wa (waffle), shoes, two, four, Da (Uncle Dan), Baby (Cousin Alayna), cahh (car), uh-huh, bue (blue), puh-ple (purple), ellow (yellow), and vroom.

I'm sure that there are a few I am forgetting.

It's Normal

to have four, count them, FOUR different face lotions in your bathroom cabinet. Right?

RIGHT?

Just for the record, I use every single one of them regularly. I just decide how my face is "feeling" that day and apply the appropriate lotion.

Zit coming on? Benzaclin (spoken of here)

Dry? Walmart brand goodness

Need some sun protection? Neutrogena SPF please

Aren't quite sure how you feel? How 'bout some of that left over ProActiv stuff?

A surprise for you

So you know how I did a card giveaway a while back?

And then I announced a winner?

Well, that lucky gal has never contacted me, so I went ahead and had random.org pick a new number.

Which was..............4!

Which means that Annie is the new lucky winner!

Congrats!

Annie, I think I have your address, but just to be safe will you email it to me again?
Carolyn H. If you ever realize your tragic mistake, I'll forgive you and mail you some cards anyway.

Teeth

Apparently, Easton is getting some new teeth.

And apparently, these new teeth require a temperature of about 100 degrees in order to come in.

Not a happy baby.

Please let it be over soon.

Where in the world is

Carmen Sandiego.

Just kidding.

Where the heck have I been, anyway? No regular posting, no weird facts about what I do or do not like, what I think is funny or not so funny.

Nothing.

Well, Easton and I went on a little trip with Sassy and Grandma Wyoming to Utah. Sassy attended EFY (church youth camp) and Grandma, Easton and I just partied it up for a week until she was done.

My camera died the first day. boo-hoo!

But, you can see our swimming adventures on Lindsey's blog here.

That's all I can offer you at this time.

Hopefully I'll get back into the blog-posting swing of things very soon.

I'm sure he was knocking

So. I have weird dreams.

I get it from my mother.

The night of the 4th, I went to bed around 11 p.m. The stupid students in the apartment complex next to us were still setting off fireworks. Despite the constant bangs and pops, I went to sleep very quickly.

At midnight I woke up. I was sure that my dad was knocking on one of our two bedroom windows because he needed something and so I proceeded to get out of bed, walk to the window and peer out.

No dad.

Then, I walked around the bed to the window on Ronnie's side and peered out.

Nope, not there either.

By this time, Ronnie was awake. He asked me what I was doing, and I told him that Dad was knocking on our window and I was trying to figure out what he wanted.

And Ronnie said, "Don't you think if your Dad needed something, he would just call?"

And that made perfect sense, so I went back to sleep.

You know, those things called Dinosaurs

The UW Geological Museum is closing due to budget cuts, so Easton, Grandma, Sassy and I decided to pay it one last visit (which could have possibly been my first visit--I really can't remember).

It was a fun little museum and since we were the only people there, Easton was able to be as loud as he wanted. They had a lot of displays that he was actually allowed to touch, which helped relieve my constant string of "No, no, no, no, no."

After we were all done and had signed the guest book I whipped out the camera.

This is what Easton looks like when saying "NO" and waving his hands at me because he doesn't want me with the camera. HE wants the camera. Little stinker.
Grandma, Easton, and Sassy outside with the big T-rex

We had to get a shot of Easton and me as well.

I'm glad we were able to go before it closed.

Card Winner

I'm sorry to make you all wait (I'm sure you have been checking the blog all day)!

But, random.org said the winner was:

#25

Carolyn H.

Congrats!

Email me your address at justkalee at gmail dot com.

A Hooded Craft

So.

Easton is too big for the baby hooded towels, but due to extreme shivering when he gets out of the tub, I still wanted to have his head covered.

So I found a SUPER easy tutorial and went to work.

And it was so, so, so, so, SOOO easy. I couldn't not share it with you.

I promise you'll want to make some. Heck, I'm still trying to figure out how to make one for myself.



Last day to enter the giveaway!

Also, let's pretend that Easton was a willing photography subject, instead of just letting me drape him with the towel while he played with his train.

Note: the tutorial gives directions for one towel, but if I were you I would use two large towels and one hand towel and just make two at once. Then you don't have half of a hand towel hanging around for no reason.

A conversation I never thought I would have

The other day when Easton was playing on our apartment complex playground, I was chatting with other moms who were there.

The conversation turned to the new minivan that one mother had just purchased.

And then we sat and discussed the pros and cons of each minivan on the market.

While Teenage KaLee sat and cringed that 26 year old KaLee was even thinking about minivans. Doesn't she know how totally uncool that is?

Note to the moms who were there, or to those who own minivans: Minivans are not uncool, they actually make a ton of sense for families. You just have to understand that Teenager KaLee doesn't respect the minivan. I don't know if she ever will.

Don't forget to enter the card giveaway!

Guess who made more cards?

I had another large order come in, so in the last two weeks I made a heckofalot of cards.

How many?

Don't worry, I'm not going to make you guess this time.

214

But, because I am nothing if not a giver (riiiiiiight), you can leave a comment (a nice comment) on this post and be entered to win an assortment of cards. There are way more than you see above, I promise!

Giveaway will be open until 11:59p.m. on Friday, June 26.

The way the other half lives

So we returned from the exclusive golf club on Saturday.

All of the events went really well.

The weather was perfect (a very big IF in Wyoming in June).

Ronnie had the best golf game of his life.*

Easton and I survived a 3 hour hike (Easton even got a nap in while riding on my back).

The food was fantastic.

But my favorite part? The part that made me realize that I just wasn't programmed for this place?

The ladies "Powder Room" had individual towels folded for you to dry your hands with.

It felt so wasteful (and a little ridiculous) to me that I was tempted to fold up my towel and put it right back where I got it when I was done.**

*While I'm sure Ronnie wishes that he had played the best game of his life, he did not. It just sounded good when I was telling the story.
**I did not put my towel back. I put it into the hamper like everyone else.

Cousins

My sister and her family came into town last week. We only got to spend one night with them (before my work events took over), but we got this priceless picture of the kiddos with grandpa!

New do

About a week ago, we buzzed Easton's hair for the summer. These are the best pictures I could get of his new look.

Helping pack the suitcases.
Making sure he will fit in the little one.

And this is when he figured out that I had the camera.

Hi there

Yember me?

Although I feel like I was just saying this exact. same. thing. ...

It's time for another huge work event for me.

This weekend.

At an exclusive golf club.

If I wasn't in charge of everylittledetail that would actually sound pretty good (oh, and if I golfed at all).

But for now, I am just trying to dig out of the name tags, place cards, hotel reservations and golf rounds.

But I do get to drive a rented mini-van out to the club.

So that's something.........I think.

18 month stats

This will be a quick post with no pictures.

Easton is currently 21 lbs. 1 oz. (3rd percentile) and 33 inches long (70th percentile). We have a tall and skinny baby. According to the questionnaire the doctor has us fill out he is at a 24 month level developmentally (but I never know how much stock to put in those).

All is well--thank goodness. He did encourage me to start thinking about getting rid of the binky.

Heaven help us.

18 months

Remember this guy?
Well, he is 18 months today (which means he gets to go to nursery come Sunday--hooray!).

I don't have many pictures this month, I really need to step it up. Easton is talking more and more (although not enough to change the fact that he has many frustration tantrums everyday). He learned to say apple, juice, Mammy (Handy Manny), Bo-Bob (Sponge Bob--he has an obsession that is not fueled by actually watching the show--which he has only seen a handful of time, it is weird). I'm sure I'm missing a few.

He also thinks he is really big. He now wants to go up and down stairs standing up--although he can't really do it yet. He never stops running outside and has no fear of falling, or sand anymore (thank goodness).

We go to the doctor next week, so I'll have official stats then. Easton is now in 18 month clothes exclusively. He is still in size 5 shoes, but has a pair or two that don't fit because his little feet are so fat (from top to bottom, if that makes sense). He has not gotten any new teeth this month, but has a few that seem to be making their way down.

He continues to be a lot of fun, naps for 3 hours a day and sleeps all the way through the night.

Easton trying on his new pair of flip flops. He loves running around in just his diaper and now that it is finally starting to get warm, he can do that once in a while.

I'll leave you with the view from Easton's eyes. Complete with fat feet, round belly and outie belly button.

KaLee's Crafting Favs

You know how I am always telling you about my latest project (be it cards, scrapbooks, or something else to keep me busy)?

Well, I have things that I cannot live without.

Okay, so I could probably live without them, but crafting without them is not acceptable.

1. My 3M ATG 714 Tape Dispenser Gun. I know you are thinking that I am talking to you in a foreign language right now. I got mine here and it is a big investment ($41.69 before shipping), but you will praise my name (and the gun) if you do a lot of paper crafting. The thing I love the most about it is the hold that the adhesive has. When I have used other adhesive, I have had cards fall apart after a few months--not with this baby. Plus the rolls of adhesive are inexpensive ($2.54 or $3.49 for 36 yards--depending on if you need acid free or not). Scrapbooking obviously requires the acid free, and I use the cheaper one on all of my cards.

2. A Cutting Mat. You can get these at Walmart. Mine is about 2.5 by 3 feet and I use it for everything, sewing, stamping, painting, gluing, the list goes on and on. It helps to have an extra layer between the paper I set down to protect the table and the table--since I always make a mess. Plus, the surface is smooth and great to work on.

3. Fiskar's Paper Cutter. Mine was purchased through Stampin' Up! ($24.95), but you can get them a lot of places. I especially like the metal that mine has mounted to it (as shown in picture). It gets so much use that the marks from 2 inches to 4 inches are barely there.

4. Paper Snips. Again, I purchased them from Stampin' Up! ($9.95) and I swear to you they are the best! I have one that I only use on ribbon (so it stays super sharp) and the other pair I use to trim small pieces of paper. I know you think I am crazy for loving a pair of scissors so much, but I swear to you--they are fantastic!

5. Scor-pal. I love this baby ($39.95), but if you don't make cards, it might not be for you. It allows you to score creases into paper wherever you want. For design, or for folding, and it is incredibly easy to use.

6. Ribbon Keepers. I have so, so, so, so much ribbon and organization is always a challenge. I love these keepers. The ribbon is not on a rod, so individual spools can be taken out of the holder easily as well as roll easily when in the keeper. Again, these are available through Stampin' Up! ($11.95-$18.95) and while I am a demonstrator, I promise I am not trying to make you buy things from me.

7. Crop-a-dile. If you use eyelets, this is the tool for you. Allows you to punch holes and set eyelets SILENTLY (key in a house with a baby). Available all over for right around $20.

There you have it, the things that KaLee loves. Let me know if I am missing anything vital--I'd love to add to my collection of stuff (as much as Ronnie would rather I didn't).

Summertime Favorites

Mint chocolate chip ice cream (okay this is a year-round treat)
Sunscreen
Blindingly white legs becoming just snow white
Fresh cut grass
Sidewalk chalk
Bike rides
The lack of jackets
Otter pops
Fireworks
BBQs at the park
Swings
Flip-flops

What are some of your summertime favs?

The Boss

Sometimes you work for people you despise.

Sometimes you work for people you tolerate.

Sometimes you work for people you respect.

And sometimes, just sometimes, you work for a person that you really like. A person that has a leadership style that works great with the way you tick. A person that just gets it.

I am fortunate to have that last kind of boss right now.

And unfortunately, he just found out yesterday that he is losing his job.

Stupid recession.

*No need to worry about me. My job is secure, but will probably be changing. I don't know how yet, but will keep you informed.

The deets

Let's just give a little family update, shall we?

Sometimes I feel like you get to read all of my random experiences and thoughts and weirdness, but then don't really know what our family is up to.

Ronnie started his internship two weeks ago. He is commuting 45 miles a day which means Easton and I get to see him less than normal. So far he enjoys it. The people are great and the firm is great. He has admitted to feeling a little overwhelmed when the work he is doing is going straight on to a judge and no one is "checking" him--but I guess he has to get used to that sometime.

I'm still working part time for the College of Business. I love my schedule. I get to make us a little money and still get to be a mom for the majority of the day (not that I wasn't a mom for all of the day before, but--well, you get it). I'm keeping busy with my normal stuff, crafting, stamping, reading, cleaning, playing with Easton, etc. We just purchased a bike/jogging trailer and if it would ever stop raining here, Easton and I plan on taking full advantage of it.

Easton is almost 18 months old and is pretty much the cutest little boy you have ever seen. You can get your fill of him on his blog.

Two, and love taps

Easton has started to count. It goes like this: "Two, Two, Go!"

We'll get there eventually.

Also, he is copying everything we do.

Last night as Karen and I were getting dinner on the table, Ronnie walked by and gave me a little "love tap" on my bum. Easton promptly walked over and slapped my bum as well (5 or 6 times). He thought it was the funniest thing ever.

Complete

It is done.

THE scrapbook.

130 pages and 44 hours later, I finished on Wednesday.

And then wept when I realized that I was breaking even. (Lesson learned, for sure).

Here are just a few sample pages for you to see. I'm working on uploading the entire thing to my online gallery--I'll update you when it's there for you crazies who want to look at all of the pages.

Company

We have my in-laws here for a few days! (Hi, Ray and Karen!) Please excuse the lack of posts.

Also, I have 109 12x12 pages that I have scrapped for the hated book so far (just 15 more to go)!

Funny story

No picture with this post--I'm sorry.

I wanted to record this before I forgot.

Last night Easton found his Handy Manny jacket in the basket next to the door. This particular jacket has a light that blinks when the jacket is in motion. It was blinking as he carried it to show Ronnie and I and he was really excited about it, but when he set it down on the ground the blinking stopped.

He couldn't figure out how to make it blink again, so Ronnie said, "Shake it!"

Easton looked at Ronnie for a second, and then proceeded to shimmy his little body.

We didn't stop laughing for a long time.

Superstitions

My 13 year old brother Jord-man (Happy Birthday!) had to come up with different superstitions that we have (as a family, individually, as a society, etc).

So I started brainstorming and came up with the following list:

• Walking under ladders (one I really believed in grade school)
• Black cats crossing your path (again, in grade school)
• Stepping on cracks in the sidewalk (probably only believed this one from age 4-6)
• Holding your breath when driving past cemeteries
• Lifting up your feet when driving over cattle guards so the trolls that live underneath don't get you
• Knocking on wood (one that Ronnie truly believes and makes me do as well)

My dad and I were talking about how interesting it is that the unlucky number 13 is so widely believed that no buildings have a 13th story. Pretty incredible when you think about it.

Anything to add to my list?

I did it again

Agreed to do a project that is turning out to be WAAAAYYYY more time consuming than I originally thought.

Currently, my table looks like this:

I agreed to make a scrapbook of newspaper articles for a girl that is graduating from high school this month. She played volleyball, basketball and soccer.


That adds up to:

over 100 articles
2 scrapbooks
countless paper
15 stamp sets
etc. etc. etc.


I'm a little overwhelmed (and underpaid). The first time I do something like this, I never know what to charge. Now I do.....$1,000,000.


Do you think that's too much?

17 months

Just 4 more Sundays until nursery, just 4 more Sundays until nursery. Easton is a joy, but church is no picnic around here. When you have a boy who naps between 12 and 1 everyday and your church starts at 12--it can lead to a few issues.

For some reason this month Easton sudden seems to have transitioned from baby to little boy in my mind. It could be his looks, or the new words he is learning, or the way he plays with things but it is exciting (and incredibly sad at the same time).

He is definitely growing taller (as my baby proofing has expanded) but I don't know how much. I'm proud to say that I finally packed away his last pair of 6-9 month pants. The boy is just so skinny! He is now wearing 18 month shirts, and 12 month pants, a size 5 shoe and whatever hat he can get his hands on.

He has also learned a few new words that come to mind: cheese (zzzz), Jordan (orda), Sarah (airah), Adam (Ahhh), and Jesus (which sounds nothing like Jesus, but it is the same word every time). His signing continues to expand and the only snag I run into is when others are watching him and have no idea what he is trying to sign.

Easton would rather be outside than anywhere else and luckily the weather has cooperated most days (never without a jacket though--it's not anywhere close to summer yet). He also love, love, love, love, loves dogs. And yes, everyone of those "love"s was necessary. In fact, I dropped him off at a friend's house today (thanks, Rachel!) and they have a dog. He was so excited when we got there and ran around the house laughing with the dog chasing him, or him chasing the dog for the entire 10 minutes I was there before I left to come to work. The kid has no fear--which is great by me.

And now for the pictures. There are a lot in the cowboy hat, but I'm glad I took them, as he hasn't really worn it again since two Sunday's ago. You can also see his Easter outfit a little better in these pics.

Cheesing for the camera with a bow on his head.

Can you read it?

Due to my last name, I sometimes get ads in the mail that look like this:

Can you read it?

Me neither.

Happy Birthday Ronnie!

{Ronnie and I at the Law Ball}

Today Ronnie turns 28! What an old man. (just kidding, hon). I'm sure his day would be a little bit better if he was not studying for the two finals he has left, and working on a final paper as well. Such is life right now though.

I won't get too mushy, since I know most of you don't want to read that. Ronnie is a fantastic husband and daddy. Easton and I both adore him and love spending time with him (what little time we get to take away from school). He is so dedicated to his schooling and I know he will do great at his internship this summer.

I hope he has a great birthday--amidst all of the studying!

Now if his Lakers can just be the NBA Champions this year, his life will be complete!

Musicals

You know how I have always wanted to live in a musical?

Well these people in Belgium got to do it.

Belgium Do-Re-Mi

Love it.

I was totally the best Nanny ever

The summer of 2002 I had a strange job offer. My high school (and still current) friend Jenn called and asked me if I would be interested in being a nanny with her.

We didn't head to New York or Boston to nanny. We were nannies on a ranch in Colorado. The owners of the ranch were planning to come out for about 6 weeks during the summer (spread out in a few different trips) and they wanted nannies for their three children.

Oh, and also, we did the cleaning of the house.

So technically we were maids/nannies. But, we got to be together 24 hours a day, so it seemed like a great plan. We also got paid $120 a day which at the time, for me, was FANTASTIC money.

We arrived at the ranch a week before the family, so we could unpack/wash everything that the designer had shipped out. We are talking an entire kitchen, bedding and linens for four bedrooms and four bathrooms, and decorations for various common rooms. We had mysterious diagrams from the designer, but I really have no idea if we put things where they were supposed to go.

That part was actually fun. It was easy to pretend that it was my house instead of belonging to the rich family from Connecticut.

Cleaning up after strangers is significantly different than cleaning your own house. That realization came upon me very quickly. My own laundry? Not a problem. The laundry of a family of five other people? Problem. My own bathroom? No sweat. Other people's bathrooms? Yuck.

But the thing I hated most of all was sweeping. The entire house was hardwood floors and that equaled a heck of a lot of sweeping. Soon, Jenn and I had a deal. She would sweep and I would mop. She would pick the hair and gunk that attached itself to the bottom of the broom off and I killed all of the bugs.

We were the perfect team.

I guess we were pretty good nannies too. Our main assignment was to get the kids to specified activities at the correct time. Tennis with the tennis pro, riding with the horse pro, fishing with the fly-fishing guy, ropes course with the ropes course pro and hanging out Native American style with the Native American they hired to set up tee pees on the ranch (No, I am not kidding--he was also in Dances with Wolves). In between, we helped the personal chef, did the before mentioned cleaning and rode 4-wheelers with the kids.

At night we went to our "house" which was the main house on an adjoining ranch that was purchased by the same family. It was also furnished by the designer.

Looking back on this experience leaves me a little in awe. Did I really do that?

What surreal experiences have you had in your life?

If I wanted to be on my hands and knees more often

I would mop my floor everyday with Swiffer Sweeper wet mop pads because I LOVE the smell.

Give me that "open window fresh" smell any day.

(I do realize that Swiffer makes a mop that would mean that I am not on my hands and knees, but the floor just doesn't get clean that way. What can I say? I am my mother's daughter).

I love Wyoming

because when it is exceptionally windy (wait, what day isn't?) and you are loading groceries into the car with your son, a stranger will approach you, compliment you on how cute your baby is and then offer to take your cart for you so you don't have to trek to the cart corral*.

*leaving your cart in the middle of the parking lot is just NOT an option. Right, Jen?

Boxes and Hats

Easton is no different than most kids, he loves being inside boxes, or anything that he thinks is a box.

Hey Mom! I see a little train car right there, I want to get in that!

We videoed the attempt to get in the train, for your pleasure. (this is not the first time he has tried to get in this particular toy--you gotta hand it to him for persistence).

After it isn't working, he is resigned to just playing with the attached bird.


I have been searching for months for a ball hat for Easton so he can be like his daddy (instead of wearing his daddy's hats). Who knew? They were at Walmart. I attempted to just put them in the cart, but that was a no-go. He had to wear them out of the store.

Why am I using the word them? There were two hats in the pack, so this is what he looked like for the trip.

Gotta love it.