Crafty Cathy

Turns out we can do lots of fun things when the TV is turned off. Madeleine picked this craft project from Nick Jr.  Of course she picked a craft based on TV characters! These are the "No-Sew Snuggle Pillows" of Moose A. Moose and Zee.

It seemed easy and no sewing was required so I agreed. Plus, the instructions say it's good for ages 3-5 so really, how hard could it be?? But the instructions must of meant that these pillows are fun for ages 3-5 to play with (not make) or maybe they meant to say "kids ages 3-5 will enjoy watching their mom makes these" because there was no way my 3-5 year olds could make this. After making it, I reviewed the website again and found this..."This craft requires extra parent involvement and a watchful eye, because it may require sharp tools or intricate handiwork".  It should have said it WILL require sharp tools AND intricate handiwork. It also failed to mention the ridiculous mess that fabric glue creates. And did you know fabric glue removes nail polish? Now you do.

Madeleine was able to help enough that she was happy and Austin just ran around in his underpants screaming "Moose A. Moose" over and over. And when they were done the kids were so happy, excited and giddy that all that mess was worth it. I thought I did a pretty good job considering I haven't done crafts in about 30+ years. Rob even called me Crafty Cathy. And if he ever calls me Cathy again I'm going to start calling him Bob. In public.

The King of New Orleans on Fat Tuesday

Harry Connick, Jr.- one of my favorite entertainers - played a full house at the Durham Performing Arts Center last night. He was joined onstage by his close friend Branford Marsalis, who lives locally in Durham. Rob was more excited to see Branford Marsalis. I admit I am not a fan of his genre of music but HCJ is one of the most entertaining people on stage. He's absolutely hilarious. Seriously hilarious. We've seen him on three occasions and every time, I leave the show grinning ear to ear.  But this time, I was grinning for a different reason...BACK STAGE PASSES! 

Thanks to my dad who got us a "hook up". Dad is friends with one of the saxophone players in HCJ's band and he was so nice to get us all VIP passes to meet the man himself.  So meet him we did!

Rob kind of talked his ear off. The look at HCJ's face makes you wonder what Rob was saying, doesn't it? I couldn't tell you because I was too busy staring at him with that dumb look on my face!  

My name is Madeleine and I'm a TV-aholic. This is my first meeting.

TV addiction is no joke.  I wish there was a 12-step program for this. Challenge #3 is going to be my biggest one yet.  But we are off to a good start. Progress reports to come.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Grammie and Grandpa King are here visiting for a few days so we got celebrate Grandpa's birthday all together.

And of course the kids hate to be left out...

The really nice thing about cupcakes is there is no spit shared after the candles are blown out. Not that I'm a germ-phobe or anything!

Success #2 - Ferberized

In my efforts to make some improvements around here this year (see this post), I have accomplished what could be our most important change - getting the kids to sleep better. Madeleine was a great sleeper until Austin came along but Austin has never, ever been a good sleeper.  Shocking I know, Austin is usually so easy (note heavy sarcasm). Bedtime around here is a real nightmare. For a long time, Austin would get up at all hours of the night and morning and be ready for the day at 4:30am. After months of struggling with this I discovered the GoodNite Lite.  This thing is pure genius and I recommend it to anyone who has kids waking up too early. Problem fixed.

Next problem...not falling asleep well and getting up at night. Bedtime took HOURS and we'd be up all night fighting to keep them out of our bed. This was not working for us. Everyone in this house was cranky, stressed and tired every single day. Honestly, Rob and I knew what to do to fix this we were just too lazy and tired to do it. Then just a couple of weeks ago I did the Bedtime Blues Webinar with Amy McCready, owner of Positive Parenting Solutions. I had a big eureka moment and that night we made the changes. I did a modified version of the "Ferber Method" using a lot of Amy's tips and within 4 nights all of our issues were gone.  Our house is 110% happier and we are all less stressed out.  Thank you Amy!  And now on to Challenge #3...

The Simple Life Project

The Simple Life - It means getting rid of many of the things you do so you can spend time with people you love and do the things you love. It means getting rid of the clutter so you are left with only that which gives you value. This is a journey.  My '2010 Project'..downsizing. 

Snow Dump

Not a fan of Mother Nature right now. The kids had fun and that is what is important. I hate snow.  School has been cancelled for three days. I hate snow. Lots of fun snow pictures in the links (to the right).  Did I mention I hate snow?