april fool's day prep work

Last year I performed a series of pranks on Katie on April Fool's Day. They were in fun, harmless and Katie loved them.

I did some homework this weekend and went out this morning and got some supplies (above).

This cracked me up -- I think I'll see if the husband wants to perform this trick on Katie.

Do you have any fun plans? I'm still looking for some fun and simple ideas.

my little warrior

Today, after a long week of combat with mini-me, we had a wonderful afternoon without the taint of nasty words, timeouts or a battle of wills.

We climbed into bed together read stories, chatted then settled down for a little snooze.

Perhaps it's because I'm with her all the time being a SAHM, maybe it's because we have similar personalities, but we can really get to each other. Patience and constant communication are the only weapons I yield.

Three things I try to remember when it comes to Katie:

- Show her the respect I want her to show to me.

- Don't be afraid to be wrong or apologize when I am in fact wrong - no one is infallible.

- Repeatedly tell myself "she's only 5."

My little cherub.

thrifty finds

Found this cute little number at the thrift store this week. It kind of reminds me of the Sound of Music play dresses Maria makes from drapes.

Mo loved that it had pockets.

I also hit a little jackpot of milk glass.

There were 9 of the smaller goblets. And, yes I bought them all. I think some are destined for eBay, but a couple will stay with me.

The girls were such good little shoppers.

I even let Mo get a grab bag of books.

The front book was a Diego book, and for $1.39 for three books, I figured why not.

little tokyo

I hadn't been to Little Tokyo in ages when I invited myself along with Miyo and her mom during a recent shopping trip.

It was a trifecta of fun -- Fun food. Fun shopping. Fun people.

We enjoyed "appetizers" before lunch including fried shumai and fried shrimp balls (which I'll pass on next time).

I'm still lamenting we didn't go back and get these when they were done.

Literally dozens upon dozens of pocky and pocky-type treats to chose from.

I love the nonsensical use of English on foreign wares. I think I giggled at almost every turn in many of the shops.

I ended up buying this because I mean who wouldn't want to "enjoy a time with me?"

An entire wall of bobble-head clocks.

I'm not sure if the thinking was to make clocks more fun, or to make bobble-heads more functional. Either way, loved them and might seriously shop though them next time.

And, then there was all the people watching.

I wasn't quite bold enough to take pictures of all the people we saw, but suffice it to say it was an eclectic mix of folks.

This green guy was collecting money for the Japan crisis.

It was all enjoyed, of course in good company.

Thanks for letting me tag along!

ushering in spring

If you've been to our house the last couple of months, you probably saw our Winter Wreaths.

It was quite the crafting adventure for me and the Little Wickies.

The girls collected pine cones at the park and then I went out and purchased my very first glue gun. I then diligently glued all the pine cones to the wreath.

The next morning I picked it up, and all the blasted pine cones fell off.

I resorted to tying the pine cones down with twine. Then we sprayed it with mass amounts of glue and had at it with glitter and beads.

This week we "Spring-ized" the wreaths by painting the pine cones.

Our wreaths are like the ghetto version of Dana's beautiful acorn wreaths that she painted and then repainted.

the tiniest dancers

Kaitlyn had a little ballet performance last Friday, so you can imagine her surprise and elation when we received a package yesterday in the mail from the sweetest lady over at RiceBabies and found this inside.

Katie pointed out that they looked just like her and Dylann (who is practically an honorary Little Wickie) one with a single bun like Dylann, and the other with two like her.

"Did she know that's how Dylann and I were going to wear our hair?" Katie kept asking.

This morning I came out to the living room to find them performing for The Little People.

Thank you!

i am not a great reader, and I have pleasure in many things

I frequent two different book clubs.

I have to admit I almost force myself to participate in them because while I enjoy reading, I tend to gravitate towards authors that are -- well, dead.

The book clubs read more current literature which I feel I would ignore almost completely if it weren't for their picks.

I just finished Sandition by my perennial favorite author Jane Austen. It was a version that was completed by an anonymous writer since Austen died a mere 11 chapters in.

Not my favorite Austen book, but I did enjoy it.

I also just finished the audio book version of North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell. I mostly listened to it while working out.

However, as I got engrossed I found myself ignoring my family completely as I listened to it while performing such tasks as dishes after dinner.

The BBC film version of this movie is excellent.

I picked up an Edith Wharton book at the library and am going to tackle that next, but am looking to take up a more current novel as well.

What are you reading? What are your favorites?

cool cat

For the Spring play Katie is part of the "J Crew," (Jesus Crew).

Their costumes are supposed to be "cool-looking," according to a memo from the choir director.

Katie doesn't have jeans, or a leather jacket -- her wardrobe consists mainly of pink and other bright colors.

This is what we came up with and she's seems pleased hence, we are all pleased.

scott & amy

My little brother and Amy got married last week.

He's 34, but in my mind's eye he's somewhere around 16.

But in reality, he's a man, a father and now, a husband.

I love the look on the couple's faces when they turn to their friends as family for the first time as husband and wife -- it's so telltale and happy.

At first glance this next picture you'll think, "oh what a nice picture of brother, sister and the Little Wickies," that is, until you scroll down to Mo.

But that's what makes the picture so fantastic.

Baby Charlotte looked as sweet (if not so much bigger) than ever.

Then, as I'm sure every newlywed couple expects to do on their wedding day -- we went decorate cupcakes at SweetSpot Baker's Workshop.

The night was finished off with Korean BBQ.

The Little Wickies played "wedding" the whole next day -- going to the extent of making construction paper flowers to hold as their bouquets, taking turns as bride, bridesmaid and flower girl.

They can not wait for the "big wedding" as they now refer to it where they have been promised the roles of flower girls.

cold weather wear

It's raining and cold outside.

When we go to school all the kids are bundled up in their jackets.

And, my kids are wearing this.

I'm sure I look like mom of the year with my kids wearing sundresses and skirts.

Hey, you have no idea how much negotiating I did to get Katie to trade in the tank top for a shirt with sleeves this morning.

at least her future husband will be happy

Katie was telling me about a night she went to dinner with friends.

“We got quarters and got a prize out of a machine.”

“Oh yeah, what did you get?”

“I got a ring with a really big diamond. I don’t really like it though."

"Why not honey?"

"I like small rings, like yours mommy.”

me and Katie during quiet time reading by the fire

tide pools and good friends

We had a nice little warm spell last week and were able to squeeze in two beach days.

On Saturday, low tide provided for tide pools and sand bars.

So, the boogie boards didn't see any surf, just tide pools.

It was a really nice day. We only had the two big girls who played wonderfully together with very, very little fighting.

Me and Miyo actually got to lay around a bit and talk.

Like I said, it was really nice.

Their "tent."

project: blue desk

Awhile back I found this on a curb when I was out on a run.

It had been sitting in the garage but now that the girls are in the same room and we have playroom/office I thought it was time to start working on it so we could bring it inside.

Step 1: sanding.

Don't call CPS on me, but I can totally see why little dexterous hands are good for certain kinds of labor.

Katie was awesome at sanding the small crevices.

Katie learned that sanding is a lot of work.

We sanded until we made the whole desk look like the bottom part of this picture.

Step 2: taping and spraying with a rust-covering base.

Step 3: painting. Katie picked a light blue.

Step 3: varnish and... voila!

Now Katie and I both have desks in the playroom/office and she is one happy camper.

What are the odds I'm going to find another desk on the street for Maddie?

happy year of the i-don't-care-it's-a-good-reason-to-eat-steamed-fish-and-peking-duck

We got together tonight with some friends to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Now, to be honest, I'm pretty much what you would call a "banana." I know way too little about the actual holiday, or about Chinese history and heritage in general.

I do however, know and appreciate a good Chinese dinner.

Katie and I made some New Year treats during quiet time.

No these aren't traditional Chinese fare. They are just sugar cookies with what I think is a symbol for "spring."

I found a tutorial here.

We used an entire bottle of red dye and the icing still looked bubble gum pink.

My characters generally looked more like fleur-de-Lis, especially the first half dozen or so.

But, they tasted yummy and our friends seemed to enjoy them.

Happy Chinese New Year!