Party On!!

Michael and Katie had their 6th Birthday Party on Friday at Lifetime Fitness. They had pizza and cake, climbed the rock wall and swam in the pool. We had 16 kids total and it was three hours of craziness!!!! Below are some pictures of the fun, fun, fun!!

Ultimate Blog Party 2009

If you're a blogger, ever wanted to start a blog, or just like reading them, 5 Minutes for Mom's Ultimate Blog Party 2009 is going on now until the 27th. You can check it out here or click on the button on my side bar. There are tons of giveaways going on. I love bloggy giveaways and just this year I've won a Strawberry Shortcake DVD, a kid's game, some super cute shoes and an awesome blingy bracelet (see my older post for a pic of that baby)!





What can you win?? There are 119 different prizes up for grabs and you can see them all HERE . My favorites are:


1. A Kitchenaid Stand Mixer (Valued at $349)!

2. 5 kajeet phones with $5 of airtime

3. $100 gift card to HomeGoods

4. A $50 GC to Target ( there are 2 up for grabs!).

After that, in order, I want 58, 42, 26, 41, 50, 77, 89, 88, 91, 118, 1, 37, 43, 47, 49, 7, 5, 12, 15, 20, 18, 38, 63, 72, 114

COMMENCE VOTING!!!!!

Katie needs your votes! She's been chosen as a finalist in the My Princess Academy Role Model Contest. They have just started the voting stage. Please go to
http://extras.myprincessacademy.com/elect_a_princess.asp
to cast your vote. Each person may vote once per day thru March 31st. If you try to vote more than that they won't count your votes and may disqualify Katie. If Katie gets the most votes in her age category, she will win a $500 savings bond. We will buy one for Michael, too.

Look Out Below!

Last week, Michael got a book from the school library that included directions on how to make your own airplanes. We found some pretty simple directions to make parachutes out of tissue paper, thread and empty water bottles.

A Modern Princess

Exciting news!! We came home from lunch yesterday to find a package on the front porch. Inside was a bunch of super cute dress up outfits and a note. Back in February, I entered Katie in a Modern Princess Role Model contest hosted by the website MyPrincessAcademy.com. I had to write a short essay and send in a photo of Katie. Well, Katie was selected as a finalist! The note in our package said to take a picture of Katie in one of the dress up outfits and send it in. They will post that photo along with my essay on their website on Monday for a voting round. The girl with the most votes in each age group will win a $500 savings bond. Below is the picture of Katie that I just sent in. I will post a link for the voting when they have it available on Monday.

So Many Questions ... So Few Answers

I happened upon this in the foyer yesterday. I can't help but wonder, what did the dog do? What can a small stuffed dog do that would be a hanging offense? Did he receive a fair trial? I found him 3 hours after I took the kids to school. How did I miss this for 3 hours??

Playing Together ..... Sort of.

I overheard Michael and Katie playing together in the playroom this morning. Well, they were trying to play together, but it was very clear that they each had their own agenda. I guess this is what happens when boys and girls play together.

K: Let's play house. I'm the mom and this is our baby kitten. You're the dad.
M: Yes, the dad who is Spiderman AND a firefighter.
K: Isn't our baby kitten sooo sweet and cute Daddy Michael.
M: You mean Daddy Spiderman Firefighter.
K: Do you want to hold our tiny baby kitten?
M: Spiderman, Spiderman does whatever a spider can.
K: I'll put our tiny baby kitten in his crib.
M: THE CRIB CATCHES FIRE!! Weeeoooo! Weeeoooo!
K: Waaaaaa!!!!! Mooooommmmm!!!!!!!

And the winner is....ME!

This is why I love sweeptakes! I just found out that I won a 33 carat green Amethyst tennis bracelet. Whoop Whoop!! Here's a picture. That baby's going to look great on my wrist!

All the buttons on the right are blogs where I enter giveaways. This one came from An Ordinary Life. I've also won from Amanda's site.

FIRST KISS!!!

Katie got her first kiss from a boy this week. His name is Cooper and she met him at the gym. They had been playing together before Steve picked the kids up to go home. Katie gave Cooper a hug when she was saying goodbye and he planted a wet, sloppy kiss on her cheek. "Gross!" cried Katie, turning away and wiping off the kiss. She later reported that his kiss was "gross and slobbery." I always kind of figured that the first boy to try to kiss Katie was going to get a knuckle sandwich for his efforts.

I hope she continues to think boy kisses are gross....until she's 30.

Trip to the ER

Katie had a little accident in the mall parking lot today. I opened the van doors to let the kids climb inside, then opened my door to get in too. I didn't see Katie bend down to pick up something off the ground and hit her with my car door. She ended up with a deep gash in her head above her right ear. Luckily, there is a hospital across the street from the mall so I could get her to the ER right away. Two hours later, Katie was the proud owner of 4 staples in her scalp. She was very brave through the whole process.

Wrapped up and waiting for the Doctor.

Ouch!

All stapled up!

TV Sunday!

Sunday is family TV night at our house. We eat dinner in the basement and watch America's Funniest Videos and Extreme Makeover Home Edition.

Michael is a huge fan of AFV. I'm not sure he totally understands what is going on in the clips. He has the same reaction for every single video:

Michael: Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha ha ha ha ha haha!!........ What happened?
Me: That guy got hit in the privates with a bat.
Michael: Oh, ha ha haha ha ha.

next video

Michael: Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha ha ha ha ha!!!...... What happened?
Me: That guy got hit in the privates with a ball.
Michael: Oh! ha ha ha ha hahaha ha ha

Seriously, he does that for every video. Eventually, I start making stuff up.

Michael: Ha ha Ha Ha haha ha ha!!....What happened?
Me: The penguin lost his cell phone in the piano.
Michael: Oh! Ha ha ha ha ha.

Katie has her own script for every video:
"Oh, that's dangerous!"
"That is NOT SAFE."
"Oh, he could get hurt. That is really dangerous."

This from the girl who invented the game Get Hurt or Don't Get Hurt. To play the game, you jump from a high spot. If you land on something hard, you get hurt. If you land on something soft, you don't get hurt. She can't understand why I won't let her play it.

What Could Go Wrong???

I saw the cutest kid-sized sponge mops at the store today. They even have a little handle to squeeze out the extra water, just like mine! The kids are always pestering to help when I do my bi-annual kitchen mopping, so I figured this would be an awesome way to keep them busy. We got two mops (for only $3.50 each!) and headed home to give that kitchen floor a good scrubbing. I filled up a bucket of soapy water and taught them how to use the squeeze handle. We're in business! Then the phone rang...

When I returned, there was only an inch of water left in the bucket. The kids had changed into shorts because their pants were all wet. They were happily sliding up and down the foyer in the foamy water.

(Michael mops like a girl.)

(A close-up of the foam)

A Slight Resemblence...Maybe

Exhibit A: My Kindergarten Picture, Sept 1980.

Exhibit B: Katie's Kindergarten Picture, Sept 2008

Apparently, neither one of us likes to show our teeth when we smile.

We can't forget Michael. He saw the post and wondered where his picture was. Oops.

Handsome!!

How's That Again??

Michael and I had this conversation in the car today.

Michael: Mom, did you know that Monday is America's Birthday.
Me: No, honey. That's the 4th of July.
Michael: No, Mom. It's Monday. I know this because I'm smart....and you are not.

That kid is growing up to be just like his father. *sigh*

That Was Quick!!

The tooth is out! She lost it eating an apple this morning.

First Loose Tooth!!

Katie has her first loose tooth! It's on the bottom right and it is a Very Big Deal at the Becher house. Her other bottom front tooth is a little loose, too. That will be an interesting look when they both fall out. I think that first loose tooth should fall out in the next week or so.

Katie has been leaving notes and gifts for the Tooth Fairy all week. I assume Katie is trying to butter her up to get more loot for her tooth. I've saved some of the notes because they are so cute. One said:
"Der tot fare. Ths is Katie. Did you no I am grwin up?" Oh, the Tot fare knows! In fact, she may have cried a little when she read that note.

Michael has been furiously wiggling his teeth trying to find a loose tooth, too. I finally told him that one felt a little loose, but it would take a while to fall out. He beamed from ear to ear! It must be hard when your twin is showing a tangible sign of growing up and you've got nothing.

On Tuesday, the kiddos awoke to find little notes from the Tooth Fairy under their pillows! Michael's note mentioned all the ways that the Tooth Fairy could see that he was growing up even though he didn't have a tooth ready to fall out yet. Both notes mentioned that the Tooth Fairy prefers white teeth, so keep brushing. Katie brushed her teeth for 20 minutes that night! Hmm...maybe the Tooth Fairy should mention that she likes it when you put your dirty clothes in the hamper, too.

May The Force Be With You

Michael has become a real Star Wars fanatic - mostly because his friend Tyler loves Star Wars. He has seen a few of the movies and has some toys and collectibles that he plays with. A few weeks ago, Michael and Katie decided to play Star Wars together.

Michael as Darth Vader. His mask has a device inside that makes the Koo-Kah breathing sounds. Very cool! He loved the costume but didn't want to be a "bad guy" so he said that he was a nice Darth Vader.

Katie put on her party dress to be Princess Leia. I did my best to style her hair in the side buns, but I didn't have any bobbie pins. She even did the Leia quote: "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."

Michael makes Vader look cute!

I'm Bored!

School is out. Forever!

Okay, not that long. But it sure feels that way! Like every parent in the area, I have been trying to find new and interesting ways to entertain the kids until January 6th.

Last week I took Michael and Katie roller skating for the first time. Their teacher had given out free passes to a local skating rink, so I figured we could try it out. If they didn't like it, I wasn't out any money. Well, they LIKED it!! But I did have to spend some money because concessions are as expensive as a movie theater and everyone was wearing glow-stick necklaces at $2 a pop.

Yes, they were the ONLY kids with helmets.

Before they got out on the rink, I told them to stay close to the wall because that's where the slower skaters will be and they would be less likely to get run over. Of course, Katie was all "Why do I have to skate slow?!!" I tried to explain that she can skate just as fast as she wants, but until she is going as fast as everybody else, she should stay close to the wall. But I had already insulted her, so she just stomped away from me and onto the rink.

(Notice how she's hugging that wall. Told you!)

On Monday, we went to the movies to see Disney's Bolt in 3D. Another hit with the kids; I am 2 for 2! Michael and Katie were delighted to wear their 3D glasses and the movie was super cute with just enough grown-up jokes for the parents. This was the first movie that Michael has been able to sit through without running from the theater in terror. Usually Michael will cover his eyes and wail thru the entire movie. As soon as it's over, he will announce "I loved it!!" This is after 2 hours of "Ahh, make it stop! I wanna leave! I wanna leave!"

I thought the glasses would be red and blue like when I was a kid.

Baking Cookies

Katie asked to bake some cookies for Santa. She also wants to sew him a scarf and mittens. I think she's taken an honest assessment of her behavior and decided on bribery to get on Santa's nice list. Not a bad plan.

So, we went to the grocery store and bought cookie dough and supplies for decorating. I rolled out the dough and gave the kiddos some cookie cutters. They cut out their own cookies and we put them in the oven. While the cookies baked, I mixed up 5 colors of frosting, got out 4 colors of gel icing, and set out 8 different containers of sprinkles. "This should take hours," I thought gleefully!

Here's Katie's cookies:

And Michael's:

Are you kidding me?!? This totally sums up the differences in their personalities. Katie used every color of frosting available - on each cookie. Michael puts on one stinking dot of gel icing!! And quits! If there were an Olympic Qutters Team, he would take home the gold medal! Of course, he'd never make it to the gold medal podium to accept his award, because he'd quit somewhere around the bronze podium.

Winter Party at School

Thursday was Michael and Katie's last day of school before the looooong Winter Break. Seriously, they are out, like, 18 days!! The class had their Holiday Party with crafts, balloons, snacks, games and a book trade. The kids had a wonderful time!

They played one game called "Shaving Santa." All the kids got shaving cream beards then they shaved each other using a popsicle stick. You can tell by Michael's face that shaving cream tastes pretty yucky.