Just another day in paradise.

My mom and grammy

Check out the heart on my mom's shirt from the shadow and the sun.

Well, I just got home from another day and we aren't doing much tonight... just hangin' out which is just fine with me. Carson didn't get out of bed this morning until around 11am which was WONDERFUL. He's a late sleeper and a night owl like me anyway, but I was up at about 10 so it was nice to have the first hour to myself. I enjoyed it!

We got around and then took my niece and nephew (Shannon & Justin) to meet my grandma who was going to take them to the airport. My great grandma was also here so we also took her to Grammy so she could head home. I think she was anxious to get home!!! Probably ready for her own little routine again.

Kenedey stayed at my moms and hung out with her friends that live here. Sierra and her hung out and played club penguin and with Webkins. They had a great time. Certainly better than driving 2 hours with no exciting destination in sight. Carson went with us and did really well. He is such a brat sometimes though. He told Shannon, "hey you leave me alone"... in a mean voice... ugh... I keep telling myself it's just a 2 year old thing... right?!

We had 5 generations there so we figured anytime we are actually all together we need to take a pic for memories. This time Carson was the 5th one, Kenedey has a few so it was a good thing for us to have him in it this time.

Tomorrow my brother Tim is coming into town for New Year's I haven't seen him in a LONG time... WAY.TOO.LONG. It was great talking to him on the phone so I am excited to hang out with him in person! He's a riot and makes us all laugh a lot!

We are warm!

Well we made it to Florida! We had a slight delay in Detroit, but nothing we couldn't handle. It was insane at the airport in Detroit. Sooo busy. We got really lucky at the security checkpoint. They had a terribly long line, but the lady sent us in the "family" line and we didn't have to wait AT.ALL.... SOOO nice when you are traveling with a 2 year old. Carson was super while we waited, he had plenty of room to get his cars and trucks out and play them and he was great!


Once we got on the plane he made friends with a little girl in front of us named Abby she was 3 1/2 and they hit it off! They traded toys back and forth and had great time! Let's pray the ride home is as uneventful!


We got the airport way too early, Jason wanted to leave at like 3 and our plane didn't leave until 6:50. I really dislike sitting around and waiting, but I guess now I can say it is getting easier since Carson is getting older.


Since being at my mom's Jefferson the dog has been knocking Carson over and scareing the crap out of him! It's certainly a change from when we were here in July! Carson was carrying the dog around in July, now the dog is 5 times his size and he's scared to death of the dog!


My mind has been super busy brainstorming about the upcoming new year and the things I want to do with my photography. Gearing up for the upcoming wedding season. I REALLY want to do more low key wedding stuff this year, and I am thinking about offering a package where they just get EVERY photo we take at their wedding and the CD with all right released and be done with it, but it's very difficult to upcharge when your doing that because I don't think people "feel like" they are getting as much you know. When in reality they are because they are able to do whatever they want with EVERY photo. Brides are a pain in the rear... ugh.

Pics of the kiddos

This was ALMOST my Christmas card... hopefully you have yours now.

As requested by Grammy!

Kenedey just chopped all that hair off! I know it seems sad to you all probably however... she has SUCH thick hair that she can't even get her hands in there to wash it well. So the cut was MUCH needed.

Again,

Ok well here we go again! I took some time today to go back and look at my old blog and REALLY enjoyed looking over the memories from a year ago. It's incredible how much my kids have changed, so I have decided that for my New Year's Resolution I am going to attempt to keep another blog. I haven't been into scrapbooking at all over the last year, with Photography and my business there just isn't time left and I am getting my creative outlet through the photography and just don't have the want to hull all that crap out. I honestly think my other Resolution may be to dig out all that scrapbooking crap and take some time to go through it and get rid of anything that I won't use. It makes me a little sad because I love the scrapbooks I have of the kids, but again... just not time. Maybe in a few years again, but for now... not so much!

Yesterday we had a great Christmas! We did the usual stay home the entire day and it was wonderful. It didn't feel like a Christmas much at all just because of our ornament/decoration situtation.

Let me update you on that. I went to get out our decorations and unfortuantely THEY.WERE.GONE.

I think they are in Jen Hutchinson's basement, but she said she looked and didn't find them. I also thought they were in my great grandmother's basement, went and checked there... not there. The whole thing really makes me sick to think about it. I just keep praying Jen finds them accidently and calls to let me know she found them! Ornaments from the past 12 Christmases are in there and it's just so upsetting to think that it could be all gone.

Ok enough about that. Kenedey is doing well. School is good for her. She had a great Christmas and is ready to go to Florida on Sunday.

here's what she got this year. I thought it was fun to look back at what she got last year:

• Digital Camera
• SDHC card 8.0 (that should hold pics forever)
• ipod docking station that is also a CD player
• new portable DVD player
• 4 outfits
• Apples to Apples the game
• Upwords the game
• Uno attach
• Mylie Cyrus breakout CD
• Huge stuffed puppy (thanks Ang!)
• camo coat
• bath confetti
• 2 hats
• Nintendo DS chargers
• DS skins to make the DS cute
• purses
• gift card to target
• hand, body and foot warmers for the woods
• a alarm clock phone for her room
• 2 DS games
• bras!
• underware
• and im suer there's some I have forgotten, but that is the gist of it

Carson:

• a 4 wheeler that we have put $ in the bank for. We knew he would want to ride it in the house and just couldn't deal with him not being able to. We will get it the first week it warms up
• puzzles
• McQueen stuff
• airplanes
• cars
• clothes
• wonder pets x2
  
• slippers
• A red radio flyer scooter
• etch a sketch (buzz lightyear)
• gift card to target
• Cars movie, we have to buy a new one every year, he wears them out
• and more im forgetting!
• we went pretty easy for him this year, he really is still just into cars!

K, that's enough for today... more soon!

FUN stuff

I follow this fun blog called Tip Junkie. Today she did a post on Halloween treats for the kids and I felt really inspired to try some of them: (I think Ken would have a blast making this one!) I would love to have a halloween party for Kenedey and her friends... do you think I can get motivated enough to have a few 6th graders over and do some fun treats/activities? Well here's to trying... i'll let you know how I come out!

Monster Mash

6 white bark chocolate squares

1 cup pretzel sticks

2 cups honey graham cereal

1 cup Halloween Color M&Ms

1 cup miniature marshmallows

orange food coloring

chocolate sprinkles

1. Melt 2 squares and then add pretzel sticks, coat well and place separately on wax paper until chocolate is hard.

2. Once chocolate is set/hard melt the remaining 4 squares. Once melted add orange food coloring.

3. Add 1 cup of honey graham cereal to half of melted chocolate and mix until the cereal is well coated with chocolate.

4. Add remaining ingredients... cereal, M&Ms, marshmallows, remaining chocolate, mix, add pretzels and chocolate sprinkles mix well.

5. Spoon out mixture in large clusters onto wax paper. Let the chocolate set and then eat.

Not even going there...

LOL, didn't want to start the topic of Bad Blogger! It's been another month and I haven't even taken the time to blog. Geez! It's a multitude of things but all that make me either not want to blog or not have the time to blog. Enough with the excuses because we all know that my memory sucks. So this is memory outlet... I must get better at blogging about the kids at least.

So Carson... he is as fun as ever. His vocabulary is increasing all the time and it's so fun to watch him come up with different things. Last night we were sitting at the dinner table and he always wants to drink pop. I know bad bad bad... toxic poison right mom? LOL why do kids always want what they should not have? Anyway... he had a glass of milk and kept asking Jason if he could have his pop. Kenedey says, "Carson, this is pop right here in your cup." So Carson goes to his cup looks in it and says, "oh, ok..." he takes a drink and makes that ahhh sound like he liked what he just drank... then looks at us all and says.... "that not pop... that mulk" We all about died laughing like we thought we had him and then he throws that at us! Yeah he's no dummy.

I have been really bad about taking pics so these are from 2 weeks ago when we did a photograph with the leprechaun at the Irish Hills festival... more pics to come soon!

He has really taken a liking to the show the Wonder Pets. He runs through the house yelling in his deep voice... "wunda pets on... wunda pets comin' on"! So excited! Then he can sing most of the song that opens the show. For me it's a guaranteed 1/2 hour break from Carson! Undivided attention to the wonder pets! Thank You Wonder Pets. Outside of that he spends a ton of time saying things like.. "kari... come ere" (must repeat like 4 times)... and yeah he calls me Kari most of the time! He gets this really excited look on his face and says, "hey ken, you play cars a me?" he like tilts his little head and drops his jaw and this excited voice... how can you tell him no?

School is going great for Kenedey. Last week she went to 6th grade camp and had a great time. She tells me she enjoyed archery the most (little Stephanie!). They also had a crud war where they got flour, shaving cream, bird seed and spaghetti noodles and got to just make a mess of each other. Sounds like a blast to me! When they were done they all had to go jump in the lake to clean off! Can you imagine 100+ 6th graders in that lake and what the water must have looked like... EWWW!

She is playing the trombone and seems to really enjoy that. Carson really likes her to play it, he just giggles at her. The dog on the other hand... is SCARED.TO.DEATH. of that thing, causes him to shake and hide... does.not.like.it!!!

Car is still doing great with being potty trained. I don't think he has had any accidents. Worst part though... he goes in there and takes his pants completely off because he climbs on the toilet backwards(this does help with aim ;). Then when he's done, he gets down washes his hands and comes out.. yeah what did he forget? To put the pants back on. I know its tough, but half the time he runs around half naked. Were working on this... frustrating! He has no shame either, say someone comes to the door... oh yeah he full force runs to the door and says, "I got it" Naked or not! So warning if you come to our door... yes, we do have clothes for our son... however... he thinks its WAY too much work to put the pants back on after doing his bathroom business... ugh!

More difficult than Kindergarten

Wow it's been a month... BAD Blogger!!!

Well today was a turning point for Miss Kenedey. She started her first day as a sixth grader in Middle School! She was beyond excited, nervous, anxious all in one!

It was bittersweet as I watched her load the bus this morning and that bus pull away from home. I think it was more tear jerking than her going off to Kindergarten was. I think when she was in Kindergarten I was just so excited that she was excited about her independence and not clinging to mom that I was so elated she did so well then.

But today, she was so happy... and so grown up. :-( I'm beyond proud of that little girl, but she's just not a little girl. I remember so much about 6th grade myself and I know that's coming for her too. She got right up and showered this morning, applied deodorant, did her OWN hair (then thankfully asked me to help her get the pony tail higher)... thankfully for my own reasons... she really can't do her OWN hair can she?! Once again, bittersweet! She does it all herself, and I just sit and wait for her to come out and show me how cute she is!

She is such a little Sheri and got all dressed up for her first day! She really did look cute. Sorry the pics aren't the greatest, the lighting sucked, it was foggy out.

Finally

I have so much catching up to do. I have been so busy with photography and I am STILL not caught up. I need like a 24 hour period of pure inspiration and persistence to finish all the wedding proofing I have to do. It’s so tedious… and fun too, but they are such important photos that I have to really WORK hard to make sure they are just perfect!

This past weekend Jason’s dad came up and him, Kenedey and Jason all went to Lake Erie to do some Walleye fishing. From what they tell me, apparently Kenedey caught the first walleye (and it was a keeper), also she caught the second one, that one was too small though and had to be thrown back. Bummer.

Carson is staying busy. He had his 2 year check up today. For record keeping sake, he weighs 31 lbs and is 35 inches long. I think he is definitely taller than Kenedey was at that age. I don’t remember specifically, but I do remember when she was 4, she was 40 lbs and 40 inches and he still has 2 years… so yeah he is for sure bigger than she was. I will have to do some digging to find out her stats at 2.

He was not a big fan of Dr. Rao today. Sometimes he is… other times… not.so.much! Kenedey was always excited to see Dr. Tim, but then again, they are two totally different personalities!

Biggest news around here: Carson has POTTY-TRAINED himself! We really haven’t done much to help him at all. We have been introducing the potty and letting him know it was there probably over the past 3 months, but I was just kinda waiting on HIM to give me the signal that he was ready. He does awesome in the pooping department which I know is usually the part with boys that is really tough to get them to do. Not Carson… he thinks it is SO cool. Although… he likes to sit on the BIG potty and not the potty chair so that he can sit backwards on the toilet… and you know what… at this point… whatever works is fine by me. I just keep a package of Clorox wipes in my purse for when we are in public and make sure its clean before we put him on. On our way to the doctor today he told me that he went potty… I was like GREAT… IN THE carseat… ewwww. Well, I got him out full expecting that he had an accident and I was pleasantly surpised that he was DRY! Whoo Hoo… so we headed inside and he reminded me he had to go “pod-ee”! So cute! I am such a PROUD momma! I think the key with both of my kids and getting them potty trained was just waiting for THEM to be ready. Carson is even staying dry at night. I am putting a diaper on him, but he has woken up dry 5 days in a row. WAY.TO.GO.CARSON!!!!!

Some of the cute things he is doing and saying right now:

When you ask him a question, before he answers, he rolls his eyes up and says… ummmm… then answers yep or nope!
When we pull in the driveway he yells out… “wur-ooommme” or were home! So cute.
When anyone asks him, “How are you Carson?” He replies, “cute”… no clue where he got that!
Still adores Mater, Cars and the gang… I think Guido is his favorite this month.
Really likes Dowa and Boots! Aka: Dora
When we take him for walks in the evenings, he INSISTS that I carry him… drives me nuts. Hello kid, we are walking to wear you and the dog out… why am I carrying you?
He is finally going to bed at a better time. We had some trouble with our schedule… mostly my fault. But he is usually in bed by 10pm and up by 9… that works well for mommy!
Still has a “binket”, aka blue blanket. He’s not super attached to it, however… he WILL NOT let me put a towel on him to get him out of the tub. He wants to be wrapped in the blanket. Drives.me.nuts.
Lastly, this one is the cutest: He can count in Spanish… kind of. I guess that’s what Dora does for you. When you tell him to count by saying, “Uno”… he fires back with, “cot-tro, cin-co, see-s” I LOVE IT!!!

Kenedey has been doing a lot of babysitting. It’s really nice to be able to have her help out, and I think she really enjoys it. All of her friends are doing a lot of babysitting so she asked if she could too, and so far it has gone great! She even had to deal with a flood in the bathroom one day last week! She plunged it, called my grandpa and that was that… she took care of it! As always… she makes us so proud. We are finally getting her room finished and all her new furniture in there… wow WHAT.A.JOB. Only one more thing to get, she wants a desk to put her laptop and stuff on. So that’s what’s next.

So I guess that is this week’s catch up! I am trying my best to get back in the swing of this!

Just a few short hours left...

for the contest!

You will find these same details listed in the post below (I just copied and pasted). I have the names of all of you have emailed me to enter and the few of you who have left a comment to enter the contest! This post is just a recap and reminder for you to enter:

I have a new camera and I would like to get some more experience with it! So if you have been waiting to schedule a shoot and just haven't made the time or just haven't done it... now is your chance to get a free session... if you win this contest!What's in it for you if you win? well.... how about a free session ($50 value), 1 free 8x10, 1 free 5x7 and 8 free wallets! Also, 20% off any other prints you order! What a deal!Your shoot can include as many subjects as you choose, your choice of location, and pretty much anything goes!Rules: the session must be complete by August 6th. Its wedding season and we must stay on track. Also, your order must be placed within 5 days after your gallery is posted and payment is due when the order is placed. Lastly, it must be within a 50 mile radius of my home in Brooklyn, Michigan.All you have to do to enter the contest is; either leave a comment on the blog here, OR email me @ karicarpenter2002@yahoo.com Here is how we will choose a winner. I will write everyone who either emails me or leaves a comment here on a piece of paper. Then I will have my kids draw 1 name out of a bowl. Whoever's name is chosen, I will contact and get your session scheduled right away! The contest begins @ 9 pm Thurs. July 24, 2008 and ends @ midnight on Monday, July 28th, 2008! Good luck to all of you who enter!!! Tell all your friends about the contest and if we have a good turn out (at least 15 entrants), you all just might recieve a little bonus!

Another weekend gone!

Well usually it's a bummer that the weekend has ended. However, not this time for me. This weekend being over only means that it's ONE more day until Kenedey comes home! She will be home @ 11:05 tomorrow night and I CAN'T WAIT! I had my cousins little girl this weekend (Lauren) who is 3. Her and Carson had a great time together. They didn't fight as much as I thought they would! A few spats here and there, but nothing serious!

On Friday I took Carson to try to get some pictures of him. I took like 80 some pictures (really not that many for me) but I only like about 2 of them. I am so not good at photographing my own toddler! Oh well! I at least got something new for the wall! He's quite the little talker these days and is repeating EVERYTHING. We really have to watch what we say.

Have a great week everyone! I know we will with our favorite girl coming home! WHOO HOO!!!

My newest project

Because it's wedding season, I have been helping out some brides and grooms by putting together these little slideshows. These make great gifts for your fiance' or whomever you want to have one made for! I have had a ton of fun making them. This one in particular, she put all the words on paper for me and choose songs and pictures, I just put it together with the music and into slideshow form! I love how it all came together! Congrats Tamilyn & Greg!!!

This ones for the girls....

and this one outta make my mom proud! My great-aunt Joyce lives just down and across the street from me. She called and wanted to know if we wanted some Zucchini... Heck yeah we do!

So, tonight Carson and I went for a walk down there to visit her and pick up some Zucchini. Aunt Joyce is that perfect little grandma type. She is the cutest and even more sweet. She gave me a couple of recipes to try out with the zucchini and since I love it, I jumped right in tonight. I have a new oven and I really haven't gotten a chance to do much baking in it... its summer who wants to warm up the kitchen more?

So here is the recipe, because it's so good I have to share it with you!

Zucchini Blueberry Bread (I even put a little nutritional turn on it)

3 eggs (beaten) *I used egg beaters

1 cup oil *I used coconut oil (because my mom says its better for you ;-)

3 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cup sugar

2 cups shredded zucchini *this was certified organic from A. Joyce's garden!!!

mix the above ingredients well

add:

3 cups flour *I used whole wheat

1 tsp salt

1tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 pt. blueberries *mine were organic ;-)

Bake @ 350 degrees for about 50 minutes

I made some mini muffins because there was so much batter left. They are a great little snack! I can't wait to see if Carson gives it the thumbs up or down tomorrow for snack! I'll let you know.

I did it...

So my other blog has been getting some strange comments and I just felt like too many people were reading and honestly it was freaking my mom out! So my first year (of blogging)... is over there ------> www.kariandfam.blogspot.com

I haven't blogged in SO.STINKIN.LONG and I was REALLY beginning to miss it. More because if I don't write something down... I can't remember it... (right Jessica). Yeah that's my cousin who remembers everything about our childhood and I remember NOTHING!

Sooo... here is my NEW BLOG!!! I can't believe more of you haven't been bugging me about blogging (family ;-)

Just a quick catch up... Ken, Carson and I went down for a visit to my mom's at the beginning of July. Carson and I came home the 10th because I had a wedding that needed my photography services ;-) on the 11th. Kenedey has been there and will FINALLY come home this weekend. Can I just tell you it's been WAY.TOO.LONG. When she gets home, it will have been a month! Whew.

Carson is doing a fine job of driving me nuts. Kenedey, I need my girl back... im super tired of trains and cars... I'm not cut out for boy stuff... give me hair bows, cute clothes, make up and all that girly stuff and we are in business!

So the name of my blog: yeah if you visit around December over at my other blog, you will find out all about how my life goes and my Grammy always says; it's a Lucielle Ball Life... IT SURE IS!