Sitting At Our Kitchen Table

Monday, May 14, 2012

Angry BIRD-Day Party...Take Two!

Here's my second (and final) installment of our 9 year old's Angry Birds Party.

The Cake!

Pretty sad, isn't it??? I usually do a pretty good job (if I do say so myself), but we had some Cake-tastrophes that contributed to our simple and gooey cake: dry & crumbly cakes, cakes stuck to pans, runny frosting (totally blaming the insane humidity on that one). You name it...it went wrong!

But we held our Angry Cake Chins high and plodded on!

The "structure" is made of chocolate wafer cookies. The small stones are CoCo Puffs. I was going to add some Oreo Dirt, but we also had a Blender-tastrophe! And the little figures are right out of the kid's Angry Birds "Knock on Wood" game!

But the Kidlets loved it! And the Grown-ups seemed to like it!

Humid Frosting aside...it tasted pretty yummy!

This is my life, Good Bloggy Friends!

John apparently didn't get the "Crazy Shot" memo!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Angry BIRD-Day! Part 1...

I'm pretty sure everyone and their Mom knows the game Angry Birds.

Well. Maybe not. My Mom was like, "What? What's this you're talking about?" But then, my parents still have a rotary dial phone in their kitchen. Ma & Pa Kettle they are!

Anyway. My kids are obsessed with this game. And they're ridiculously good at it! So it wasn't a surprise when my soon-to-be nine year old asked for an Angry Birds theme for his birthday party.

He wanted an Angry Birds cake, Decorations & Party Invites...but all the gifts on his list were either Pok-e-Mon (which will be the death of me) OR Skybenders (I don't even know if this is correct. It's the video game where you can buy little guys and put them on your glow pad (for reals) and that figure becomes your violent cartoon game character).

Oh. And he wanted the game Mouse Trap.

But I had to squeeze some sort of Angry Bird into the gift pile. And I found the perfect idea over at Angels have the phone box. She has an excellent free crochet pattern page with the Main Angry Bird Himself and a Green Piggy to go with Him!

Seriously. Don't you want to smack that smug smile of the goofy pigs face when he doesn't explode?

Moving right along...the patterns were easy and quick to follow!

Here he doesn't look so angry! Let me mention that the safety eyes I had malfunctioned and attacked me...so I just made thick knots out of black yarn to use as pupils.

Now he's looking angry! Also, since these were going into the hands of a ~~crazy~~ energetic kid, I crocheted the Angry Uni-Brow instead of using black felt. And I stitched that bad boy on...tight!

Here's my finished pair. They look rather friendly with each other!

And here's my Happy Customer!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Not So Much Fun

Hi, Everyone.

Remember me? I used to blog here...kind of regularly.

I've been MIA for a long time and I think I'm ready to share a bit why.

Here's the Warning: This isn't funny or crafty. So you can totally stop reading now if you want. My plan is to get this off my chest and come back later tonight or tomorrow back to my old self!

Here Goes.

Our oldest, Louie, just turned nine on Monday. He's currently in third grade at a Private Catholic School. This year he has been the victim of bullying. It has broken my heart.

It started back in October. His bully is a girl. I won't get into too many details. It started with verbal bullying and taking his things from his desk. Then it turned physical. The first incident was poorly mishandled by the teacher and by administration.

We love our school. We are those super crazy-active parents who volunteer for everything. We love the families we've met. We love the teachers our son has had. We had total faith that things would work out and we wouldn't have any more problems.

Three weeks later she did it again. This time was bad enough that I was taking pictures of my son's chest while we both bawled after school. We met with administration the next morning. Things seemed positive.

And they were positive with this girl. She has kept away from Louie.

Then his teacher started bullying him. Verbally and Emotionally. His teacher consistently puts him next to the girl who has hurt him. We've requested twice that he be moved from her class. We were turned down. They had Louie talk to the school counselor and together they made a list of pros and cons of him staying in her classroom. He told the counselor that, even though his teacher is crazy and says crazy things, he's used to it. He's used to it and he knows she's a liar and he doesn't have to believe what she tells him. How sad is that? My heart broke...again!

So. Here's where we are. There are six more days of classes. Administration asked that we document our year. My report had 11 pages! Our principals have brought our complaint to the Father of our Parish. I have faith in this man. He is an educator and in the two years he's been at our church, he has made some fantastic changes to our school.

So every day I pray. I'm not sure what I should pray for, though.

It seems wrong to pray that this woman loses her job. But I hope she does.

It seems ridiculous that I should have to pray for the administration of a school to see what is going on under their noses and wake up! But I do.

I pray for wisdom that my husband and I can make a decision this summer as to where we send Louie to school next year. Louie wants to stay where he is. He loves his friends. He loves all the other teachers.

Mostly, I pray that I can be the brave Christian soldier our son seems to be, with his chin up and ready to forgive and forget.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Our Red Carpet

Last year I did a post called Oscars...Our Style.

So, it's only fitting and proper to introduce...

The Second Annual Oscars...Our Style!

The Oscar for Best Costume Design goes to:

Kat! For her work on Princess Sassy Pants.

The Oscar for Best Art Design goes to:

John! For his work on Swirly Rock Painting!

The Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film goes to:

Louie! For his portrayal of a super nervous 8 year old taking his first plunge off a diving board!

The Oscar for Best Set Design goes to:

Kat! For her work on Toddler Tornado Hits Living Room!

The Oscar for Best Make Up goes to:

Louie! For his extensive aging and paling work on Vampire Boy.

Best Actress in a Leading Role goes to:

Kat! For her work in Jurassic Two Year Old.

Best Actor in a Leading Role goes to:

John! For his role as Peter Peter Pumpkin Smoothie Eater.

Best Documentary goes to:

Louie, John & Kat! For their patriotic look at Mt. Rushmore: National Monument!

Best Visual Effects goes to:

Louie Kat! For their work on Cosmic Mini-Golfin'!

And. Finally. The moment we've all been waiting for.

Best Picture of 2011 goes to...

(ugh. Let me just open this darn envelope.)

Goes to...

Our Trio!

Kat, Louie & John

The main problem with this...keeping their acceptance speeches under the time limit!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

My Dad

Let me tell you a bit about my Dad.

He's HILARIOUS!

He's the kind of guy that wakes up laughing and falls asleep whistling.

He loves his family...esp. the Grandkids.

He's worked his hiney off his entire life...farming, meat packing, press operator and now he does maintenance work...second shift.

He'll be turning 67 soon and his cheerfulness, his activity level and his wise-cracker personality make me forget his age.

He'd also blush and say, "Cut that out!" if he heard those few praises I just sang!

So. On with my story.

Growing up in a crafty family...I got a lot of homemade gifts for Christmas, birthdays, whatever.

My Dad's Mom crocheted me a couple of afghans, lots of booties and she sewed me endless jammies.

My Dad would always tease and say, "No one's ever made ME a blanket (or whatever the gift was)!"

Now that I'm a crocheting fool, I've been whipping up scarves and hats for everyone.

If I'm working on something while my Dad's around he'll shake his head and put on his puppy-dog look and sigh, "No one's ever made me a (enter project here)."

Can you guess where I'm going with this???

For Christmas I crocheted him a scarf!

I didn't follow a pattern.

I just crocheted back and forth and back and forth.

Forever. My Dad towers in at six foot four!

Here's Louie "measuring" it! Floor to ceiling...I think it's long enough!

Here it is...all Sushi rolled and ready to wrap.

Do you think he liked it?

I think he did!

Before he opened it I said, "Now. You can finally quit your belly-aching!"

Now I need to start on a matching hat for his birthday!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

TAG! Bloggy Style

What's that you say? It's February already???

Whoops! I kind of skipped January. But I'm baaaaaaaack (in creepy Poltergeist manner)!

And I'm back with something FUN!

A couple of weeks ago, Stevie over at Moore Babies, tagged me in a fun game "Tag! You're It".

I love these types of things, because you get to know more about these awesome bloggers and maybe find some new awesome bloggers to follow!

So, Stevie, I accept your Tag and am ready to Play!

First things First: Rules

1. You must post the rules.

2. Post 11 fun facts about yourself on your post.

3. Answer the questions the tagger asked you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you tag.

4. Tag eleven people and link to them on your post.

5. Let your eleven people know you've tagged them!

Eleven Fun Things about Moi:

1. When I was eight I took Czech lessons from the community college to surprise my Great grandmother. Unlucky for me, it wasn't conversational Czech, but a crazy grammatical class. I fared pretty well!

2. If I watch a scary movie (or see a trailer for a scary movie) I need to watch Mary Poppins in order to fall asleep. With the closet doors shut!

3. I'm a lefty. That makes me creative, right? And bad at math. Or maybe I'm bad at math because I'm ME!

4. I'm also terrible at spelling. Some of the words on my oldest's spelling list are words I continually misspell!

5. I called my maternal grandparents by their names. Rita & John. My first job was at their Print Shop. I played there a LOT growing up (Mom worked there, too and then later, my Dad). I would go on deliveries with John all the time. They put me on the payroll when I was 15. And I worked there until we shut the doors in 2000.

6. My hubby and I were best friends for 6 years before we started dating. We dated for five months before he proposed. I would recommend marrying your best friend to anyone!

7. I never finished college. I was an elementary ed / music ed major. I've recently been thinking about going back to get a degree in Library Science.

8. I watch Phineas and Ferb when the kids are asleep. LOVE IT! I also watch Fraggle Rock on Netflix when I'm alone. Dance your cares away! Clap Clap Down at Fraggle Rock.

9. I was an early "bloomer" and I stopped growing when I was in fifth grade. I'm five foot ten inches. I was a giant!

10. My mother-in-law's name is Linda. So is my Mom's. My Dad's name is Bob. So is my father-in-law's. Creepy? Try this...my parent's anniversary is 3/5. My in-law's anniversary is 5/3. Cue Twilight Music!

11. We live about three blocks away from some train tracks. Whenever the whistle blows, my brain sings, "I hear the train a comin'." Gotta love Johnny Cash!

Stevie's Questions for Me:

1. Look back 10 years, is your life where you thought it would be?

Wow! Ten years ago I was 24. We were just getting ready to buy this house. Now that I'm in that mind frame, I'd say Yes. We knew we'd live here for awhile. We knew we wanted 2 or 3 kids. Bonus, I get to stay at home with them! We're right on track!!!

2. When do you fit blogging in?

In the evenings, mostly, while the kids are falling asleep. Sometimes during the day if they're napping or busy with their play/projects. I didn't fit ANY in last month!

3. How often do you cook dinner?

At least four nights a week. Usually more. We used to be REALLY bad at this and ate out a LOT.

4. What kind of music do you listen to?

I truly am a jumbled mix of musical tastes. I fall back on the oldies, because that's what my parents listened to while I was growing up. I've always been a bit of a rebel, and shunned pop music. But I love Lady Gaga. I also love old school country...Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings. Throw in some show tunes from Les Mis and Wicked and we've got ourselves a play list!

5. Do you have any pets?

We have a fish named Wolfie. Don't judge, a three-year-old named him! And we've started talking about the "D" word.

6. What is your favorite thing to do at the beach?

We're in Nebraska...so I'm not a beach expert. However, I love standing or walking right on the edge of the water and wiggling my toes in the wet sand.

7. If you were stuck on a desert island, what book would you bring?

Anne of Green Gables. Final answer.

8. Do you prefer going to bars or clubs?

When we go out it's usually to a bar. Where everybody knows your name. And they're always glad you came.

9. What's your ideal date night?

Dinner. Movie.

10. Where would you go on your next vacation if money were not an issue?

Disney Cruise to Hawaii!

11. What is your favorite meal of all time?

Baked pork chops, potato dumplings and sauerkraut & peas. Iced tea to drink.

Tag 11 Bloggers:

Cheri Quite Contrary