Sassy Skirts

Madison is in preschool now.
That's not new info.
What you may not know is that our little sassafrass is obsessed with skirts, or more specifically, dresses.
Oh yes- it is beyond a love affair- she is obsessed.
Every morning Madison wakes up, crawls into bed with me (Matt is already at work) and waits for me to wake up.
The moment my eyes flicker in her direction....
"Good Morning Mommy- Can I wear a dress today?"
Luckily, skirts also fit the bill.
Today, after school we stopped by the mailbox to find a box from Gramm.

a box filled with school clothes! All skirts, dresses, and leggings (to wear with dresses that are just a little too short for school)

Of course, Kennedy had a few surprises in the box, too.

Doesn't Miss Madison look so grown up with her new sassy skirt and big girl pony tail?

Poppy Festival

Sunday, April 25th the whole family went to the Poppy Festival.
First stop, the Aerospace exhibit.

Daddy, Madison, and Kennedy explored the thermal imaging area.

Then Madison visited with an astronaut

before becoming one herself

Check out the cool inflatable F-18 Hornet behind her.

Daddy had to get in on the NASA action, too.

Next we found a cool guy with an experimental plane.

The girls thought it was fun to 'fly' it. (Daddy really wanted to jump in the pilot seat, too- but he refrained)

After checking out a few craft booths we went to the playground to get out some energy.

Then met up with Daddy's co-worker and friend, Thad and his wife Gargi and their 6 month old cutie, Maya.

Face painting, balloon animals, and a bag of cotton candy later, we were ready to head home.

We saw Captain Jack, ate some fair food (fair is a generous description), visited wild animals, and enjoyed time with friends.

If we are still here next year, we won't go back during Madison's nap time. (wink, wink)

Mommy's Latest Project

One of the great blessings about this move is having the time, resources, and space to make some of the ideas floating around in my head come to life.
Remember this post?
Late at night, when I can't sleep, I blog hop.
Yep, find a few blogs you love and inevitably they will link to other blogs, which link to other blogs....especially the project/creative blogs.
I've wanted to make a giant chalkboard for a long time.
Not sure where I first saw the idea, but when I saw this a few months ago- I knew the perfect spot to make it happen in our new house.
All the tutorials and examples I found online were painted directly onto a wall- since most people do a huge project like this in a home they own and plan to keep for a long time.
We are in a different boat.
A few weeks ago on a solo trip to Lowe's, two helpful employees solved my mystery.
I was torn as to what material would be best for my project.
We wanted something sturdy but not too heavy and definitely cost effective.
The winner- a sheet of drywall. Only $5.20 for an 8ft by 4ft sheet!
Just a few days later Matthew went back to Lowe's with a larger vehicle than my little Altima and got my big supplies.
Step one- purchase magnet paint (did you know they make magnet paint?! I didn't at first either. turned out to be a happy and cost effective finding), chalkboard paint, foam rollers, sheet of drywall, casing, and paint for casing.
Step two- paint casing with fabulous paint color (since I only needed a little I bought a Lowe's sample color $2.99)

Next, I took my huge 8ft x 4 ft piece of drywall and set it up in the garage on a couple tables as a nice high work space the girls could not reach.
Unfortunately, the sheet rock was just about cheek height for Miss Kennedy- slight hazard.
I painted 4 coats of Kilz primer to ensure my magnet and chalkboard paint didn't get absorbed and require a billion coats.

Then, Daddy helped me cut a foot off the end since I wanted my finished project to be slightly smaller than the sheet rock.
I ended up painting 5 coats of magnet paint on the top half of the panel.
The more thin layers you use the better it works.
Let it dry overnight (sorry no pics of this part)
Then painted 3 coats of chalkboard paint all over the panel.
After priming the panel by rubbing chalk over the whole panel and wiping it clean I couldn't WAIT to get it up on the wall!

Daddy found the studs and screwed directly through my panel and into the wall.
He kept mostly on the edges so we didn't have lots of holes in the solid surface.
The girls couldn't wait to start 'chalking'.
Madison brings lots of coloring projects home from school so the top half of the board is perfect for all her creations- (including her ten commandments train pictured)
Since we didn't have a miter box, Mommy got to pick up a new toy!
We walked through the basics and Mommy got to work- my very first mitering project!

The original plan was to use tiny finishing nails to install the casing around the panel.
After purchasing my $1.49 pack of 150 nails, Daddy indicated an air nail gun would be much easier.
Of course, we didn't have one- yeah! another new tool purchase.
Thanks to Harbor Freight we picked one up for super cheap and it will be perfect for the very few times we will actually use it.

The mitered edges lined up pretty well considering I used a hand saw (and it was my first time with a miter box- wobble, wobble)

The bottom half gets used lots more (wonder why) so it is consistently 'dirtier' even after being wiped clean.

We installed a little shelf for our chalk and magnet container to the left of the chalkboard.

Here is the view from our kitchen island.

The more I look at it, the more I love it.

So do the girls.

Even Matt smiles about it now, too.

I my chalkboard!

Stories from the Princess

Today was a great day!
We worked, we played, we visited with friends.
Madison was helping Mommy with a project today when we decided to call Gramm back from an earlier conversation.
Gramm was finishing her make-up and dashing out the door to Prom as she and Pop were chaperones again this year.
One of her former students gave her a cute 'up do' for the event and she was describing it to Mommy.
Naturally, I begged her to have Pop take a picture and send it to me!
She quickly wrapped up the call to work on her finishing touches.
When we hung up, Madison asked, "What's wrong with Gramm's head?"
Quickly realizing Madison was referring to my request for a photo of the back of her head I responded, "Nothing is wrong, Gramm's hair looks like a Princess and she is getting ready to go to a Ball".
Without skipping a beat Madison replied, "Does Gramm need to borrow my crown?".
Such a great sharer!
When I assured her Gramm was just fine Madison asked if SHE could wear her crown and dress up like a princess and go to a 'fall'.
We promised as soon as Kennedy woke up from her nap Madison was princess bound- but no 'fall' tonight.
Tomorrow we are going to the Poppy Festival. Can't wait to share pics and stories!

April 6th- First Day of Preschool

We've talked for several months about putting Madison in a Preschool program.
She has a huge desire to learn and loves being with other kids.
After the move, Mommy started researching the few programs in our area.
We stumbled upon an AWESOME new preschool within a local church!
After meeting with the director and taking a tour, the girls and I were sold.
The curriculum is exactly what we were looking for, the classrooms have giant windows making each space bright and cheery, but most importantly- Madison couldn't stop asking when she got to go back!
We quickly decided she would start the next week with the morning/half day program 9am-noon 3 days a week.
April 6th was her first day of school.

She talked about her new school and meeting new friends the entire week leading up to her first day (and for months before asking why her friends all got to go to 'school' or daycare and she didn't) but her excitement quickly turned to tears the morning of her first day.
With several trips back and forth to our room with 'needs' or concerns all night long, Madison did not get a good night's sleep.
She woke up crying and practically refused to get in the car for school.
The tears continued as we dropped her off in class and helped put her bag and jacket in her very own cubby.
Mommy and Kennedy made a quick dash out the door to make the transition less painful for everyone.
As soon as we left the building Kennedy started crying for her sister, 'Ma-sun', Ma-sun'.
When we got to the car, she pointed to her sister's empty seat and just about lost it.
I think she thought we were dropping Madison off FOREVER!
Mommy shed no tears, and Kennedy quickly realized the benefits of being an only child for a few hours. We drove into town and went to Target where Kennedy got her very own chocolate cookie, followed by another....and half of another (hey- the kid was sad, they were small cookies) and soon her sister was a tiny thought in the back of her mind.
Just about the time we were both missing Madison again, it was time to pick her up!
Madison's teacher Miss Kathy said as soon as we left, Madison cuddled into her lap for 2 minutes then happily sat on her own animal on the circle time mat and there was never another sad moment.
She LOVED school!

As we walked out of the classroom and into the hall, I asked Madison to stand next to the calendar for a picture. Kennedy thought she should back up against the wall, too.

Every morning Madison wakes up and asks if she gets to go to school today and what she will learn. Now, the whining comes when she doesn't get to go to school.

We love hearing about all her school antics, bible stories, alphabet sounds, and friends.

And yes, Kennedy still asks about Madison every day she is in school, but is loving her one on one time with Mommy!

April 19th-Daddy and Ice Cream

These days, our time with Daddy is little to none.
After a 3am-5pm day Saturday, Daddy took Sunday and Monday off to rest, work around the house, and play with his girls.
Monday we were all in the garage- Mommy working on a fun project (pictures to come), Daddy fixing a plane to fly with the girls (a little remote control plane, not like the giant one at work), and the girls playing in their sandbox and riding their trikes around.
Kennedy decided it might be fun to walk into the corner of Mommy's giant project with the bridge of her nose and cheek.
She needed a little comforting from Daddy....and a Fudgsicle.

afterward, she needed a new outift.

So did Daddy.

The Long and Short of It

Back in September Matthew came home from work with an idea.
The aircraft project he was working on with his company, Aerovironment was nearing the next stage- flight testing.
After careful research of potential and previous test facilities, it was determined this particular aircraft's flying capabilities would be tested at Edwards Air Force base.
We knew it was highly likely Matthew would be asked to be part of the test team, which created an interesting challenge for our family.
How does a family of 4 with two children under the age of 4 function consistently without Daddy Monday thru Friday (and sometimes Saturday and sometimes Sunday). I know, I know- plenty of single parents make it work for one reason or another, but it just wasn't going to work for us.
The decision seemed simple- temporarily relocate the family closer to Daddy.
The problem was, we didn't know exactly when this little (ok- BIG) relo would happen, so we did what anyone else would do- start purging junk and packing.
As 'deployment' approached, our suspicions were confirmed. Matthew was asked not only to be part of the team, he was honored to be chosen as Crew Chief- a title we didn't understand fully until he started working on base.
Matthew was officially 'deployed' during the holiday season. He and the rest of the team stayed in hotels near the base until after the holidays.
It was rough only seeing him the occasional week night and weekend in the weeks leading up to Christmas. The deployed team worked 10-12 hour days, 10 days straight to ensure their time off Christmas Eve-January 2nd.
During our time off together, we realized how urgent it was for our family to find temporary housing in the desert so we could be together. We called on a listing we saw in the local newspaper that sounded perfect. It was available, the owners were Christians. Seemed perfect to me, but Matthew thought we should wait.
Just after the first of the year Matt went back to the hotel as the girls and I packed up Christmas and the rest of the house. The second week of January, I couldn't take it anymore. Being apart was too tough. That week, the girls and I drove out to finally meet with the owners and see the inside of the house. Matthew met up with us during his lunch so we could check it out as a family.
We were disappointed, but felt we needed to make a move quickly for our sanity.
It was a Friday morning. We made tentative plans to start moving into the house that Sunday.
The girls and I drove home to Simi Valley, Matthew went back to work.
That night, 90 miles apart as we laid down for the night, Matthew and I each prayed God would show us what to do.
Saturday morning I woke up to a text message from Matthew. His friend John found a listing on Craigslist that morning he insisted Matt call on.
That day Matthew left work early and drove to see the house. He fell in love, filled out the paperwork and gave a deposit without even talking to me.
This was the house we prayed for.
We made move in arrangements for February 1st.
The more we talked to our new landlords, the more we came to understand God's plan.
Cassie and Gunnar bought this two and a half acre property next to Cassie's parents 5 years ago with a plan to build their dream house to start their family. They built the house and learned starting their family would be harder than they thought.
They moved to Oregon to be closer to Gunnar's family and rent their house.
Shortly after their move, they learned of a young mother in California looking for parents to adopt her unborn child. For legal reasons, the parents needed to live outside of California. They trusted God's plan when they moved, and it was revealed to them when they were there for their daughter's birth just over a year ago!
When their most recent tenant gave her notice in January they thought it might be time to move home. In faith, they listed the house on Craigslist that same Friday night we prayed for God to show us our house.
Saturday morning all our prayers were answered!
We moved from our tiny 1950's 1,000 sqr foot rental house in Simi Valley to this gorgeous 2,300 sqr foot custom home built in 2006 the first weekend in February with the help of great friends!
The week we moved in, both girls got the flu. The second week we had a few days to unpack, then it was time to re-pack for a 3 week Florida trip for one of my high school friend's weddings. We've been home just over a month now and are finally feeling settled.
Easter weekend Cassie, Gunnar, and their daughter were in town visiting Cassie's family so we got to meet them face to face. We are thrilled to have such amazing friends now! (and an open invitation to Oregon any time we want!)
We don't know how long our stay in the desert will be, but we trust in God's plan and are embracing our great adventure!
In the weeks and months to come, I'm hoping to walk you through the last 6 months in photos and keep up to date on our daily adventures!

Goals and Checks

I woke up this morning with lofty goals.
Get everyone dressed- check
Start a fire (its in the 40s here today)- check
Pancakes with princess shoe sprinkles (per Madison's request)- check
Vacuum the house- check
Clean the floors (halls, kitchen, dining room, bathrooms, laundry room)- check
Clean the kitchen top to bottom- check
Break for lunch- check
Run around the house like crazy girls- check
Strip all beds, wash, and re-make- check
Upload photos from camera- check
Back everything up to external hard drive- check
naps- in process....
It's been a great day!

I also set a goal to blog again. I miss it
I miss you
So- keep me accountable.
My goal is to blog 5 days a week with one current and one 'lets get this stinking thing caught up' post. These back and forth posts will make it tough to keep timelines in tact when we eventually go back and publish our blog into yearly books to keep...but that's life, isn't it? Managed chaos...and lots of laughs along the way!
Here's blogging at you, kid!