First silly and then fun!!

Recently Alyssa has been telling me that I need to write a blog post. "You used to write in it all the time," she would argue. "Yeah well, I used to crap in my diaper all the time, but you don't see me doing that anymore," I quickly respond. "You may as well," she says, "it's not like you do anything else around here." And then I would say something like, "It's not like its my blog, it's our blog. You don't see my name on it!" And then she would be all, "Kevin, you're so--

I better stop. This could get out of hand. The point is I recently read a post written by Alyssa about the things she likes as an adult compared to when she was younger. I decided I would do the same thing. I may even have pictures of said things, if they are appropriate.

1. Girls. Well, I don't so much like girls anymore as I do A girl: Alyssa. I do like my daughters and they are girls, but technically I like them in a way I would like girls when I was younger, so we are talking about LIKING girls. You know, when you spell that in all caps, it looks like licking. Which isn't what I am getting at and not what I am going to post any pictures of.

...Am I done yet?

2. ...

No that's about it. Really just one thing. Do other people really change so much? I guess I can think of things that I liked as a kid that I don't anymore. That should be a longer list. Let's check that one out:

1. Girls. See, the above post was talking about girls that are now older and are women. I certainly don't like girls now that were my age when I was younger, just the older girls that you don't even call girls anymore.

...Oh boy. This isn't going well. Moving on.

2. ...

No that's about it. Really just one thing. Do other people really change so much?

Okay, so that didn't go quite as planned. At this point I should probably do the right 'blog' thing here and post video and pictures of my adorable children. That should make things less awkward.

Well, besides the fact that I don't have a shirt on in that video...

Amelia has gotten pretty good at swimming, thanks to the hotel we stayed at for almost 3 weeks (That's about the only good thing with all of that). This is us after sneaking into some apartment swimming pool. Don't worry, we didn't get caught. Once I took my shirt off everyone left.

But uh... Here are some pics of the girls on the 4th of July, fully clothed. Seriously, the mosquitoes were so bad and it wasn't all that warm that it warranted hooded sweatshirts.

The pictures and video was taken with my new iPhone which does great high-def video and 5mp pictures, but I am still not impressed with the ones taken indoors vs. out. The hooded pictures are inside, but the tickling one is outside. I also edited that little movie there with iMovie right on my phone.

-Kevin

Things I Have Come to Love

Has anyone noticed that once a person reaches adulthood perspectives change and things that may have once been despised suddenly become quite appealing? I have. This was a long train of thought I had today that by the end of it I decided it would be a great blog post.
*in no particular order

Salad- As a child and teenager, I would look at salad and think "this is just a poor saps excuse for a meal that is trying to achieve his once slim physique and is failing miserably. That salad will lead to a Big Mac tomorrow"  But oh how that opinion has changed! There's something about the fresh lettuce and raw vegetable crunch combined with a bitter onion, toasted nut, and a splash of sweet dressing that you just can't beat! Plus, it's incredibly versatile. As long as you have some sort of leafy vegetable as your base, ANYTHING else can be tossed in and you have a salad.... now if only my children agreed with me.

Silence- A once annoying reminder of a lack of sociability, it is now a great and relaxing paradise! I long for the opportunity to hear silence daily. In fact, every time I get in the car I leave the radio off so I can hear only the quiet rush of cars driving past and the soft hum of the motor running. Until the kids are asleep, that's probably the closest I ever get to silence.

Sushi- The thought of putting any raw anything in my mouth used to make me gag. Now, I crave a taste of a fresh Boston Roll from Meeka Sushi or their deep fried Portland Roll. Seriously, DELICIOUS.

Dishes- I pretty much avoided anything that sounded like a chore as a pre-adult. Having no choice in the matter now, I love doing the dishes. It's the only chore that can give near immediate gratification and the cleanliness can last up to 12 hours! (7pm post dinner to7am breakfast) I can't think of another chore that has the possibility of that much longevity.

Athletes- Once upon a time I couldn't imagine myself with anything but an athletic ripped guy. However, once out in the real life dating world (post-18) I realized that most of the athletic ripped guys were missing something- BRAINS. There's just a wonderful satisfaction knowing your husband is more brilliant than you in several important subjects. I don't know what I was thinking wanting a guy that could shoot a basketball better than me. Seriously, what's more attractive than a man who can hold an intellectual conversation with you for hours.

School- Well, I never REALLY hated school but there was a time when I was ready to be done. I definitely love the feeling of learning. I miss having lots of information stored in my head to spout off at any random moment. Now, I'm lucky to remember where I put my car keys... or my wallet... or my children.

Writing- Oh, I HATED English class. It's such a biased, nonsensical subject. I was always more of a cut and dry, logical type. I've never had a hard time with writing but I have also never found it the least bit intriguing. However, my senior year of high school and freshman year of college made me realize how joyful writing can be. I learned that writing has rules(!!) and logic(!!!!) at times. Amazing. Come to find out, when done correctly, it can express feelings and emotions in such a way that can be a huge stress relief. And this is why I have a blog. I love having people read the many workings of my scatterbrained life in a way that's interesting because, let me tell you, my life is sometimes anything but interesting. Hahaha. Ok, not really. It can be monotonous at times but with two toddlers "interesting" doesn't describe half of it. :)

There you have it. There's definitely a long list of things I still despise to this day, but it's certainly interesting how things change so quickly. I could write many more but I have to get the kids ready for bed. Alas, motherhood calls...

Redecorating

Redecorating 101:

SPEND AS LITTLE MONEY AS POSSIBLE... At least that's my motto :)

Since the whole oil furnace/soot disaster, we've been living with boring tan walls. Part of me wishes they just painted the walls white because it's so much less restrictive. I can at least have tan towels without them blending into the wall! But, alas, the walls are tan. So I had to get creative with color. If I was really thinking I would've taken before and after pictures so you could see how color can make the world so much happier! My living room went from no curtains, since the white curtains we purchased for our blue-grey walls now looked RIDICULOUS. I had to find a color that would go well with the red without being red. How about a rusty orange??

They work, eh? At IKEA, two panels 180" long with some self hemming tape inside the package were $40. A relatively decent price for a material other than cotton.

Next, we had the same bamboo themed shower curtain since we got married and I actually got it a few years before that. It was a cream and tan with brown and green bamboo shoots moving up every other panel. They worked... when our walls weren't tan. With tan walls, the entire bathroom was one big BLAH. I grabbed 1 picture from a set of 4 we originally had in our bedroom and hung that up. Purchased a $20 shower curtain from Target, a $10 bath mat w/ 2 matching hand towels, and, WAH-LAH, a new, un-BLAH bathroom... Don't mind the horribly hideous rose patterned floor and old, outdated, broken vanity. You work with what you got. One day I'll be picking my flooring and vanity... Oh the possibilities!!!

Next up? The dining room... Eek! Here's the before... I think I need a curtain over that window and a tablecloth and/or runner and recovered/new chairs. Hahaha. I know, I'm getting ahead of myself. Or maybe some PAINTED WALLS!...*sigh*

Ignore the messy table and kitchen counters.

Any more ideas for decorating? I need to figure out what to do with my kitchen too. I'm welcoming any suggestions!

My First Garden.... SUCCESS!!... So far...

Back in February/March we decided to attempt gardening. We made raised beds that I talked about here. And 3 months later, things are coming along! Even just two days of warm weather (finally!!) have made my garden take life. I'm excited to see what comes of it.

Onions, Carrots, Zucchini plant, Green Beans, Spinach, and the tall ones in the back? Peas :)

Strawberry Plants weighed down by the strawberries!

Sugar Snap Pea flowers... peas will be here soon!

Cilantro and tomato starts- hopefully the tomato plants will start growing soon!

Gives an idea of how HUGE the cilantro is. At least 2 feet!!

This was my picking this morning! The last couple of days I've picked about 10/day. Today, I hit the mother load! Thanks Mother Nature!!

WARM weather means PICNIC!! It wasn't an effective picnic. The kids ate nothing and would rather be playing. Who could blame them?!

Peryn is just now getting used to the idea of "grass". So sad! You would think by June she would've had ample opportunity to get used to walking in the grass but no. I'm sure by October she'll be ready to run free...