Bow'quet

KennaKat's bows and headbands were 

out of control

In need of a special place to call home.

A place where they wouldn't get lost 

in a jumble of clutter on her dresser,

& could possibly look as cute as a decoration, 

as they do adorning the top of her head.

**Meet Bow'quet**

I must admit that I love her.

She keeps things orderly and adorable 

on top of the currently cleared off dresser top.

{That wont last long because the dresser top generally houses all of the out-grown clothes that will be passed on to cousin Lani, that have not yet made it to the large bags in the closet}

The creation of this little cutie was free

If you'd like to make one for yourself, 

this is how to do it:

Supplies:

Oatmeal container

Mod Podge or glue

2 sheets of Pretty Paper 

{I used that of the scrapbooking origin}

Sticks

Container stuffer

Cute bows and Headbands

• Coat oatmeal container with Mod Podge
• Place paper around container
• Smooth out air bubbles (I'm not so great at that) 
• Coat top of paper & remaining container with Mod Podge
• Cover with 2nd sheet of paper
• Smooth out air bubbles
• Apply another coat of Mod Podge
• Allow to dry
• Gather sticks while getting pounced on by eager puppy hopeful of playing fetch
• Clip bows onto tips of sticks
• Arrange sticks in container
• If sticks are too low, stuff the bottom of the container with paper, or better yet, foam

Enjoy!

A Special Memorial

{A Special Memorial}

What can make a Memorial even more special?

~~Spending it with loved ones~~

As you know from a previous post, 

Ethylwolfe invited his Papa to the Memorial.

AND HE CAME!!

Since Papa was coming, we went to Nani's hall.

Being at Nani's hall made it a lot more special because we got to visit with so many 

of our great friends.

I tried to get a nice shot of the group of kids

but... they were in major silly mode.

{And this is only half of the large group 

of kids at this hall}

Ethylwolfe's silliness rubbed off on CS 

in a big way.

{Spinning... Dancing... Air Guitar}

Forgot to take before shots of the family

So enjoy some of us after

How was your memorial?

Ours was fantastic!

Bottom Bunk Blues

{Bottom Bunk Blues}

For those of you who grew up with bunk beds, you know how freakin awesome they are.

I could write a book about all of the adventures my siblings and I had with our bunk beds while growing up, but I wont....  

If you've ever had bunk beds you'll remember that the top bunk is totally awesome while being stuck on the bottom can be pretty lame.  

That's how it has been for KennaKat.  Ethylwolfe is 5 and she is 3.  Being doomed to the bottom bunk for the next 2 years isn't such hot news to a 3 year old who wants to be as big as her big brother.  She has had bottom bunk blues for a few weeks now.

SO, what to do?  

Make the bottom bunk totally awesome!

That's what!!

The Cone of Shame Ain't Got Nothin' On Me!

I'm not one to use terms like "Ain't" but I couldn't resist using it when referring to my dog and the poor 'cone of shame'.  She took it DOWN and boy is she proud of herself.  It's hanging by one little loop now.  See Bailey!  This is why we can't have nice things!

Dork Alert

This week Bailey went to the Vet to be spayed, get shots, and have her freakishly dangling dew claws removed.  She has been very docile and lovey-dovey.  She hates her 'cone of shame' but has found ways around it to still enjoy her daily game of fetch (see photo below)

She's a major D.O.R.K.

Clarification

This morning, I finally remembered to put the "Sing to Jehovah" vocal CD's {that I made weeks ago} in the car.  While we're listening KennaKat says "Yay!  That's the Kingdom Hall music!"  Ethylwolfe sighs and says "No KennaKat, that's the CONVENTION music" with another sigh.  Like a big DUH everyone knows they play the piano version at the KH and the vocal version in between the sessions at the convention.  

He really does have his father's and uncle's brain...

A New Friend

Look who has a new friend! 

We had the pleasure of working with Lisa in service all day Wednesday.  Slowly but surely, Lisa won over KennaKat's heart.  

This is the last house that we worked.

As Lisa got out to go with another sister, KennaKat demanded 

"I want to go with Lisa!"  

{She remained in Lisa's arms the entire time}

Yep, someone has a new friend and her name is Lisa Pizza.

She even screamed "I WOVE WEESA PIZZA!" about a million times.

Little Miss was not happy about saying "good-bye" either.

...I'm only a little jealous...

Around Town, just us girls

Today KennaKat and I had originally planned to skip story time and spend the day in service.  But when we woke up, the howling wind and rain changed our minds.  We weren't really in the mood to go to the library and after hearing that our friends wouldn't be there, we decided to hit the town, just the two of us.

First up on the list was to enjoy an early lunch at the Foster's Market.  I had been planning on stopping by for a while now, it has been ages since I have eaten there.  But then, after reading this blog by my dear friend, who ate there just the other day, I couldn't get it out of my head.  My mom would eat there a lot when I was a kid and I thought it was so disgusting!  They have a lot of healthy choices and being the picky kid that I was, I would get so upset every time she would pick that place.  Now that my taste-buds have matured...{okay, those of you who know me well, know that I am using that term lightly....I now eat tomato and lettuce on my sandwich instead of just meat and cheese...} I enjoy the place much better.  KennaKat and I shared a roast beef sandwich on sourdough bread.  They offered rye bread, but seeing as how not all of my pickiness has quite left me, {the thought of rye makes me want to gag}...it's the smell and the seeds....don't laugh... I opted for the sourdough instead..

After enjoying our lunch and picking up a piece of candy from their large selection, we got in the car and headed to target for some window shopping.  

After picking up a few dollar section items, including this notebook that KennaKat had to have.  You see, it's the Cheshire cat that Nani has in her room, it's one of the few things KennaKat is not allowed to bring home, therefore KennaKat attributes that cat as being Nani's cat, so she gets very excited every time she sees it around.

After browsing to the point of exhaustion at target {can we say "atleast an hour in the toy section alone") we went to explore a new craft supply store.  It's small, and things are more pricey than at Michaels and ACMoore, but I feel it's important to support the local businesses.  It's called Bull City Craft.  I found a few unique items to purchase for the kids.  In the back portion of the store, they have a craft center where you can purchase kits to make there with their help if you need.  The grand opening is this Saturday and they will have tons of giveaways and free crafts so you should check it out if you like that kind of thing :)

New Sketchbook for Ethylwolfe's art, blank postcards for kids to draw and send out, and soy rock crayons.

After the craft store, we went next door to a newish frozen yogurt shop.  It's called Local Yogurt, actually real yogurt that's frozen with active culture.  Delicious.  They had 4 flavors that change up every so often Plain, Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Burberry all very yummy and they have tons of toppings to put on top.  Fresh fruit being what I liked best.  KennaKat and I chose to share a plain with blueberries.  Very yummy.   

So our day was complete.  The weather changed from cold, rainy and windy to down right BEAUTIFUL!  So, I regret not sticking it out with a long day in service.  I hear tomorrow is going to be beautiful, so we will be sure to not miss our second chance.

Love, The SpeckledKat

Grossology

Thursday of last week, we joined Heather and Kaile on a trip to the Natural Sciences Museum.  This was mine and the kids first time there and I think H&K's as well.  The Museum has a special exhibit right now called 'Animal Grossology'.  It's about all things gross in the animal world.  

Blood sucking creatures...

stomachs, intestines, 

poop eaters...

poop in general

slimy creatures

and more.  I was a tad disappointed because I was expecting real exhibits of live examples of these gross things.  It was however, all fake.  All of the stations were very hands on for the kids.  There were videos, play structures, moving models, things to smell, noises, (a cow that farts and burps, etc)

 So, the kids enjoyed it, and it was neat, as well as educational.  

I think the coolest part of the museum was petting animals in the 'live' section. I don't remember what it's called.  But, every week, this guy brings in animals to talk about and let the kids touch. For our viewing and touching pleasure, we got to pet a baby american alligator, a black rat snake, and a Madagascar cockroach.  The kids thought it was awesome!  

They also really enjoyed the dinosaur bones and other giant animal skeletons like the blue whale.

  The museum is a cool place and it's free, except for the special exhibits.  I plan on going back again real soon.  The craziest part about the day was that we apparently went on 'Field Trip Day'.  There were HUNDREDS of kids from various schools and it was a mad house.  Dodging the crowds was crazy.  So, next time, I'll call first and make sure there aren't any schools visiting that day.

If you haven't been to the Natural Science Museum, I suggest you check it out, it's awesome!

My Ethylwolfe is growing up...

April second has come and gone.

Today started the campaign for the Memorial of Jesus' death.  It was a simply beautiful day.  Clear skies, bright and cheery, a little chilly but not too bad.  There was wind though....  I must admit that I wish that I had rethought the flowy skirt for today's service attire.  On more than one occasion, I felt my skirt flying up around me when a big gust blew in.  I worked with Ethylwolfe in service and I was using him and everything I had, to hold down my free spirited wardrobe....I was NOT trying to have a Marilyn Monroe moment....yikes.

Speaking of Ethylwolfe, (every time I think about that name, I just laugh.  Really Babe, you really thought that naming our son Duncan Ethylwolfe would be a good choice?  Really?....Thank you for not sticking to your first selection, thank you very much.) 

Now, back to my story....

I worked with Ethylwolfe this morning in service.  Just my buddy and me.  He was able to present the invitations at the doors, and I must admit that I was grinning from ear to ear as he gave his presentation.  Here's what most of his presentations sounded like....

"Hello, my name is _____.  I have a special invitation for you and your family.  I would like for you to come to the Memorial of Jesus Death."  He would then show them the invitation and open it up for the details of the location and time.

He was so cute at his first door.  Slightly nervous.  "Now what should I say again mom?"  Then he'd repeat and repeat and repeat.  The first time someone answered, he got it so jumbled but in the end said, "please come, it's very important, it's Jesus' memorial!"  While holding the invitation up to the guy.  His heart melted and he sincerely thanked him and said he would try to come.    

I love when we have special invitations to pass out because it makes it much easier for him to give a full presentation by himself.  He's been doing it for several years now, this one being the longest one, and sounding waaay too grown up.

During our service day, he kept making sure that we saved an invitation for his Papa, so that he could come too.  (He thinks everyone needs a personal invitation or they can't come:)  He practiced for a bit on what he wanted to say to Papa when he gave him his invitation, but I think when we saw them later in the day, he forgot and just handed it to him :)  Nani made us a nice dinner and we got to spend the rest of the day with them.  It was hard pulling KennaKat away ;)

Having children is a very emotional, bittersweet experience.  Every day changes.  They grow right before my eyes.  Every accomplishment is a wonderful celebration and it makes me so proud, but boy, it really is tear-jerking to realize that they are getting older.  Every milestone takes them further and further away from that sweet little bundle of perfection that I held and kissed the very first time we met.  I can't wait to see the man and little woman that they become, but I hope to catch and savor, all of the little moments that come before then.