Big Girl Hair Cut

Sadie's had her hair "trimmed" before, but never really had a cut. On a whim, we decided we'd chop off some length today...

Bicycle Built for Two

It's possible that this is the cutest video ever made.

Sadie, September 2009.

You Better Hurry...

I had a great week. Eric had a rough week. We celebrated the end of the week by going out to eat tonight. After dinner, we had a brownie with ice cream for dessert. We all know Sadie is a fan of ice cream, seriously...she likes ice cream...and in case I haven't mentioned it on this blog before, I want you to know that Sadie likes ice cream. What I didn't know is how hard she could shove my spoon out of the way when I mistakenly thought I could have that little bite of chocolate on the side of the bowl.

I gave up after a while, but Eric and Sadie kept at it. When Eric took a break for a second, Sadie informed him sweetly, "you better hurry, or I'm gonna eat it all!"

...and so she did.

Errant Thought Roundup 26

I love, I love, I hate, I hate,

I like, I wish, for goodness sake,

I hope, I hope, I pray, I pray,

I will, I won't, and for today...

I love unexpected compliments...especially when I'm being complimented on things I think people don't recognize.

I love that I put a plate of full of mixed veggies (carrots, corn, peas, and green beans), fish, and asparagus in front of Sadie tonight, and she ate (without complaint) every single vegetable on the plate right down to the last asparagus. This is fabulous news considering we had 5 Guys for dinner last night.

I hate when I catch myself wishing away a day, a week, or a season...but c'mon, Spring!

I hate that I don't just "fall off the wagon," somehow I propel myself off the wagon and run screaming in the opposite direction.

I like giving people good news.

I wish I could take my family on a real vacation...like Hawaii or something. Maybe one day.

For goodness sake, there are times when we all need to repeat this to ourselves: "It's not always about me. It's not always about me. It's not always about me."

I hope we do something AWESOME this weekend. Any ideas?

I hope I'm a good role model.

I pray for people who struggle with the same things I struggle with - because sheesh...my struggles kind of suck.

I pray that the amount of sleep I get over the next four weeks will feel like it's more than enough to have the energy to accomplish the things I need to accomplish.

I will probably have some sort of chocolate before the night is over. Because I'm weak. And chocolate is soooooooooo good. I'm pretty sure the angels pass Lindor truffles out in Heaven.

I won't apologize for taking time for myself. You should do more of that.

And for today...I know I say this all the time, but I am so content. I'm abundantly blessed, and happy in my circumstances...even on the tough days. I'm pretty fortunate to be able to say that.

This Week in Numbers

4 - the number of days I've been to the city this week

4 - the number of times I've paid for my train ticket. Remember my little character flaw?

1 - the number of showers I've had the time/energy to take in the last 3 days

3 - the number of Coke's I've had TODAY (apparently stress makes me fall off the anti-soda wagon).

41 - the number of books in the Bible that I've read so far in my quest. 25 more to go (and they're short ones!)

34 - the number of bruises I have on my legs from moving furniture all weekend. 16 on my left leg and 18 on my right. I look like a dalmatian.

209,023,475 - the number of times I've thought to myself, "no one wants to hear how tired you are, Kendra...please stop telling everyone." Do I listen to myself? Of course not... did I mention that I'm really tired?

5 - the number of days in a row this week I've thought to myself, "jeez...my fingernails make me look more like a mechanic than an office manager." (Possibly due to the lack of showering...don't worry, I'm all clean now).

42 - the number of followers SD currently has. Thanks :) I'm glad you're here! (Are you stalking me? Click the button. Don't ask questions, just do it.)

1 - the number of children I currently have.

4 - the number of children I would like to have.

55 - the age at which I want to retire with my husband and sail around the world...or something like that. We should probably get done with the baby-having pretty soon, huh?

7 - the number of anniversaries before the "7 year itch" is supposed to kick in.

7 - the number of years Eric and I will have been married as of this year.

0 - the number of times I've worn jeans to work this week (yay for resolutions!)

4 - the number of times I can recall *just today* that I have been jealous of someone's sense of style. I used to think I was stylish.

1 - the number of new friends I made today. And I'm pretty stoked about that.

4 - the number of weeks I have to finish the build out and space planning of our new office downtown. {8 or 9 - the number of times I've freaked out over this fact today}

10 - the time I'm going to bed tonight.

15 - the number of seconds it took me to think of 20 amazing women in my life I am truly grateful for...I know there are others, but how fortunate must I be to be able to think of 20 in under 20 seconds? Thanks for being amazing, ladies.

My Little Kandinsky

Today, my family came to center city Philadelphia with me to help me prep my new office for a division-wide meeting (yay for being mom at work, too!). It took Eric and I six hours to get everything done. Most of the time, Sadie wanted to help (rolling chairs around, picking up bits of trash...you know, small person jobs), but during the times when she wasn't helping, I discovered that she was making these:

Can I call this her first series? :) It took me a while to figure out that they reminded me of Kandinsky. He had a thing for circles too. Oddly, I never liked him until today.

I'm in love with them...they're all getting framed and hung on the wall...

...now I just need to find wall space :)

Eric is Awesome Because...

I can think of a million reasons why I love my husband...maybe I'll bore you with those on our anniversary or something.

In the meantime, here are just two of the reasons why I think he's awesome.

Reason #10,462 - He sends me goofy text message pictures at *just* the right moments during my not-so-easy days.

(hehehe)

Reason #786 - He takes Sadie out on dates because he wants her to know how much he loves her - even when I'm not around, and because he wants her to expect love and respect from men as she grows up.

(this is a pic from their date night this weekend...ice cream with gummies)

We are a couple of fortunate ladies, don't you think?

Errant Thought Roundup 25

I love, I love, I hate, I hate

I like, I wish, for goodness sake...

I hope, I hope, I pray, I pray

I will, I won't, and for today...

I love my awesome kid. I'm not sure if I've ever told you that before - you were probably wondering if I liked her at all. Wellllll...I do. So now you can rest easy.

I love my bed. It's probably a sin to love the comfort of my bed as much as I do.

I hate it when I'm bitter over something. When I'm harboring bitterness, that means I'm also harboring unforgiveness. And that's bad. And not healthy. And only hurting me.

I hate how much I beat myself up for things that are beyond my control. I am really hard on myself sometimes - mostly because I set unrealistic expectations. Welcome to my life.

I like my new resolution: No jeans to work except on Fridays (we're allowed to wear jeans every day...jeans are the norm). I want a promotion next year, so I'm gonna at least look like I deserve it. {Now if I could just act like I deserve it...}

I wish overhead lighting didn't exist. Then Eric and I wouldn't fight about how HORRIBLE it is to have the light on over the dining room table (he thinks overhead lighting is a necessity - BLECH). If I had it my way, we could just live in our blissful, ambiently lit environment...free from overhead lights. {sigh}

For goodness sake, be a little kinder than necessary. It is absolutely uncalled for to be a turkey to people. Seriously...people have bad days, but it's not fair to be a curmudgeon all the time.

I hope that I can have a little more grace for people. I find myself wanting to slit a vein at the mere thought of some individuals...that's probably not good.

I hope you know that whenever I speak ill of some "vague" notion of a human in my blog (see last statement), I am 99.9% certain that the person I am "vaguely" referencing will not be reading this blog. In other words, it isn't you, my darling.

I pray for a couple of people...that they would experience mercy and grace and a full heart. Every day. And that when they hear the soft voice of God, they would listen...God is such a gentleman...He won't barge in to any situation (or life) - - He waits to be invited.

I pray that our (100% paid for!!) cars would last us another 5 years. Cha-ching!

I will start the New Testament tonight! I have been seriously missing giving you my 30 before 30 updates. I even already know what my next book is going to be...something short...and secular.

I won't drink any non-diet soda this week. You know I have a Coke problem. I've almost completely given it up. I think I've had like 3 this month. Down from two per day. Pretty stinking awesome, if you ask me.

And for today, did you know that Ken and Barbie are back together? After 7 years apart, they realized they were made for each other (ba dum bum!) and got back together on Valentine's Day. Adorbs. (I never thought I'd say adorbs...I'll probably never say it again. You're thankful, right?)

Have a FABULOUS Friday, friends!

I'm a Vintage Fan

{tee hee}

source (Thanks, Tatiana!)

Awww, Shucks...

We cook almost every night because going out to eat costs money. And we don't have any of that. Because I do a lot of cooking, Sadie does a lot of helping (don't worry, I promise she gets plenty of mindless hours in front of the TV). I ask her to help me with anything that doesn't have the potential to burn her, cut her, or contaminate her (i.e., she doesn't get near the stove or oven, and she obviously isn't allowed to use a knife or handle raw meat). Everything else, I let her do (or help with). Sometimes we're a little heavy on the garlic powder, but guess whose kid knows the difference between garlic powder and onion powder? Ok, not mine...I have to tell her every time. But still...she is learning how to measure out ingredients.

Tonight, she helped me with our tilapia dinner. She poured all of the spices into the bowl for dredging the fish, and she shucked the corn for me. These are two of her usual jobs, so she's pretty familiar with the routine. I don't mean to brag, but I'm pretty sure I have the best kid ever...

Ok, I lied...I meant to brag a little.

Sorting Treasures

Sadie collects treasures. I remember doing this as a kid, so I know she gets it honest. Let me describe to you what shape her treasures take:

• clothing tags
• feathers
• discarded beads
• rubber bands
• abandoned buttons
• anything sparkly or shiny
• rocks
• those little clips that department stores use to hook clothes to hangers

...you get the picture

Any little bit of exciting garbage that she can find on the ground, she picks up, and it becomes a treasure. I know it's disgusting, but seriously...I didn't die from germ exposure, and I'm pretty sure she won't either.

She also collects treasures around the house, and I find it absolutely amazing that she gravitates towards things she knows that Eric and I won't care about...that way she can keep them forever. Things like: hair clips, hair bands, magnets, rhinestones, Barbie shoes, beads, broken costume jewelry. If it looks like a treasure, she will find and hoard it.

This morning, I discovered that she is not only collecting her treasures, but sorting them as well. She pulled out her treasure boxes (which I thought were empty), and then proceeded to show me the contents of them. If this kid had one more ounce of me in her I'd swear she was my clone. Check out what she did with her treasures and her treasure boxes...

Exhibit A: The Blue/Green Treasure Box

A hair band, a costume ring, two Cinderella buttons (that fell off of hairbands), a Barbie shoe, a ring, Tinkerbell's shoe, four rhinestone magnets, a charm bracelet, and a hair clip...all blue and green.

Exhibit B: The Orange/Gold Treasure Box

Several rhinestone magnets, three hair clips, a rubber stamp, a ring, a fabric brooch, and the Belle bauble from her Belle dress...all orange and gold.

Exhibit C: The Pink/Purple Treasure Box

A flower ring, two broken costume earrings, "bangs" from her My Little Pony, Aurora's shoe, a butterfly ring, a heart ring, a Barbie-sized tiara, and several rhinestone magnets...all pink and purple.

Spectacular!

Valentine's Day Rematch...

Remember last Valentine's Day when I swore I'd never be so neglectful to send my kid with only {gasp} character Valentine's cards again?

Well, friends, this year, Sadie and I made a project out of it.

Ingredients:

(1) placemat

(2) dish towels

(1) bag of heart suckers (because last year we didn't send a treat)

(1) bag of stretchy monkeys (because last year we didn't send a toy)

Total = $10

Sadie and I did some measuring, and then I did some cutting, and then she did some gluing, and this is what we came up with:

She picked out which card/heart/monkey combination she wanted for EACH of her friends ("no wait...Jakey gets this one and Dylan gets this one.")

Et Voila!

Monkeys and lollipops...what's not to love?

Two awesome things about these Valentines: 1) Sadie helped with them. I think it's important that she get to help with projects that are essentially for her. 2) They have a treat AND a toy...because I'm not gonna be the crappy mom this year.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Singin' in the Shower

...well, the bathtub, anyway.

I used to sing this song when I was little - I love hearing her sing it! She would have hammed it up all night if I had let her (I was letting her watch herself in the little screen while she sang).

Happy Saturday!

Best Household Trick Ever

You might not think this is the best trick ever - if you don't, it's because you have never had this problem.

Lately, our dishwasher has been leaving a disgusting white film on all of our dishes. We've tried switching detergents, adding rinse agents, scrubbing with the little plastic thingy (we call it a crap-scraper...what do you call it?). Nothing *really* worked. I've complained about this at work and I've thought, in horror, that someone might come over and we might accidentally give them a filmy disgusting plate (ick!). I've been awakened in my sleep thinking of ways to tackle this (brillo pad? nuclear blast? break them all and start over?). I thought it was hopeless..

Until I read this amazing little household hint from someone who had the same problem: white vinegar. I know, sounds too easy, right?

It was!

Eww, eww, ewwwwwwwwwwwwww. This was the worst one. This was the final straw. I was willing to stay up all night with the crap scraper because I had run this one through the dishwasher (and hand washed it) about a dozen times...it was completely out of commission. But, I just used a little vinegar (no elbow grease at all...just vinegar) and...

Now we can use this bowl again!!

Amazing, right? Right??! That was the first one...I got super excited and kept going...did the whole kitchen (even the ones that didn't have the mystery film). The little tip I saw said to put a glass of vinegar in the bottom of the dishwasher (not the bottom rack...the actual bottom...under the little rotating sprayer thing). This acts as a rinse agent so that you don't have to buy jet dry anymore - 99 cent vinegar will do the trick.

Here are a few other photos to prove to you that this is an awesome trick:

You know what my flatware looks like now...I don't know why, but that feels strangely personal.

Bonus: I now have a whole dishwasher full of like-new dishes. And my diamond is sparkling like whoa.

Enjoy!!

Happy Notecards!

I got my second handmade gift in the mail this week!!

I must say - I got giddy when I saw the box:

And when I opened the box:

These are so me!!! She did such an awesome job - THANK YOU, Joane!! I love them and can't wait to use them (except then I won't have any more - can I commission some extras sometime?) :)