Kirby...

This is Kirby. He is our pet cat. Yes, you read that right, our pet cat. Kind-of. Many of you may remember him from our old house, on Blossey. After having lived there for a few weeks last summer, this little fella started coming around every night. I, of course, ignored him, but my cat loving husband and children started little by little to love him and take care of him. They fed him, and loved on him, and they named him. Tucker named him; Kirby. Ben's grandfathers name was Kirby. Me and the kids have never met him, but one of Ben's sisters' families just recently named their cat Kirby (after the grandfather) and Tucker wanted to name our cat that as well. And it has stuck. Anyway, we didn't know if he had owners, or belonged to the people that lived there before us, but he seemed to always be hungry, and was ALWAYS in our backyard, like it was his home. 

A few weeks before our move into our new house, the subject came up on weather we were going to take him with us or not. I said no. Daddy said Maybe, the kids said YES PLEASE! One day in a moment of what I can only describe as shear disillusionment  I told the kids, that MAYBE we could take him with us, if we get him checked out at a vet clinic. Well, they hung onto those words like the bible, and I couldn't rescind! 

Anyway, we move, we decide NOT to take Kirby, and (felt a bit bad) left him at our old house, hoping that he would find another house, or go home if he had a home. A week or so goes by and Ben had to go back to the old house for something and saw a big bright orange notice on our old front door, saying, VIOLATION! It was from SCRAPS (the animal safety people here in Spokane) saying that we were in violation for abandoning our animal. Ben grabbed the notice to call them, but we forgot. So a week or so later, we go back and there is another one on the door knob, along with 4-5 open cans of tuna in the driveway. Finally Ben called them and let them know that he was not our cat, that yes, we had been feeding him, but he wasn't ours. She told us that our 'concerned neighbor' from across the street called them and told them we had abandoned our cat, and had been worried about the cat, so was putting cans of tuna out for him every night. Anyway, long story here, sorry... Ben came home that night (to our new house) with a little friend in tow. I looked at him like, wha...??? and he defensively told me that the lady had guilted him into taking Kirby with us to our new house, since we HAD been feeding him for the past year almost! And then of course the kids brought up the fact that I did tell them we could keep him if we took him to the vet.

So.... now we have a cat. I never thought in a million years I would be a cat owner. I haven't taken him to the vet yet, only because after Ben brought him here, he disappeared! I was a bit happy about that, I thought maybe he decided to go to his home. But, last week he started coming around again and has been spotted every day since, so I guess he's back for good, and I really need to get him into that Vet!

He is actually a very tame and quiet cat, just wants some attention and food, I think. I told Ben that I wasn't going to do ANY of the maintenance for Kirby, or cleaning or be responsible for the feeding. So, I think I can survive! :)

And that's how I became a cat owner, the last person on the planet who would ever want to be a pet owner.

Girlfriend is officially potty trained!!!

Hallelujah, I won't have two kids in diapers!!! 

This one has officially been accident free for over two weeks now and I am so so so thrilled and relieved. But... it has taken long enough, I started in January! :) And back then, she did so great for a week or so, then reverted back to only wanting diapers, then she would be interested again, and then go back to diapers. Its' been on and off for the past few months, and I've just been too tired to fight her on it, or really put the effort she needed into it. Well, I mustered all of my energy for one last round before the baby got here (I had given up hope that she would be potty trained before he got here.) and was shocked when she was FINALLY ready! She has done SO good!

Here she is with her spoils from officially being potty trained, a few packages of new undies! So cute, I can't help it, her cute little bum in underwear is the cutest thing in the world to me! :)

Just in time for diaper buying round 3!
Thank you Taylor for potty training before the baby comes, I owe you big time! :)

End of the school year already?

End of the year festivities are upon us, and Tucker is enjoying every second of it. (There is still a month left, but it's getting close!) Today was the fun-run, which I didn't go to because of the whole 8 1/2 months pregnant thing. I just didn't feel like it, and I thought I had a pretty good excuse! :) Luckily Tucker still got to go with his BFF, Irelynd. He came home tonight and told me he got 10th place and was so excited, I asked him how he knew he got 10th place, and if it was out of just his class, or grade, or whole school or what, and he said, 'Oh, Irelynd just told me she counted 10 people in front of me out of everyone!!!' So, we were still a little unsure about how everything went down, but he had a great time, and is currently sleeping like a log, so I'm not complaining! :) Because I didn't go, I have no pics of the fun run, but a few weeks ago we had the school carnival. It was a lot of fun! Of course, Tucker & Irelynd were joined at the hip the whole time.

Here they are in line for a game:

I was following them around as closely as I could, just to keep an eye on them, and I heard Irelynd tell Tucker that she wanted a soda, so Tucker went right over to the ring toss where they had the soda's as the pegs you had to get the rings around and you won a soda if you got it, and Tucker tried until he won her a soda! :) Quite the gentleman! :)

Taylor and her daddy playing a game...

The girls' got some emotion!

She was a bit excited when she got a bullseye...

After some games, we got to go outside to have some Franks Franks. It was my first time and it was delicious! Franks Franks is a little hot dog stand here in the Valley that claims Authentic New York City Hot dogs sold right here in little ol' Spokane Valley. I've always wanted to try one to see if they were really that good. And they are!! I was kind of shocked because they LOOK just like your run of the mill ordinary hot dog. But I'd for sure go back!

It was a beautiful evening!

Lots more games played, cake walks walked, bouncy houses jumped in, cotton candy eaten and finally it was time to end the night. We ended with getting our faces painted.

Tucker got a green mask, and as you can see was very serious about it:

And Taylor got a kitty cat, and as you can see below, was very pleased with it! :)

{Taylor's picking out her own outfits these days!} :)

I love McDonald Elementary! I am going to be sad that Tucker isn't going here next year, although I'm excited about Sunrise, I've heard nothing but good things about that school, too. I am just glad that Tucker has had a good, fun and enjoyable experience so far in school, and that he has learned so much. He comes home every day with new information or facts about things, he is just a little sponge absorbing so much right now, it's a fun stage! 

Flan with Sonia...

I love Flan! I ate it any chance I got in Chicago as a missionary, but haven't had it since. My friend Sonia is a wonderful cook and told me she would teach me how to make Flan and it was delicious! I am so happy to know how to do it now, and it is SO easy!!! But I think you have to have a taste for flan, because this flan was good, but my hubby and kids didn't really like it. Well, it wasn't that they didn't like it, they could only eat a few bites and then they were done. 

We made just one recipe, but put it in two dishes so she could take one home to her family and I would have one for us. (I ate the whole thing by myself, basically!)

This is how we made it, just from her memory of making so many times. After she left, I thought back to every step and typed it out so I would always have it. I don't have that great of a memory, especially when it comes to cooking and recipes. So... here it is, if you so desire:

(these are my own words, nothing technical here...)

Flan

A la Sonia Reyes

In small sauce pan, bring to boil ½ cup of water. Once boiling, add 1 Cup of sugar. Stir until it starts to caramelize, once it starts to caramelize in the pan, only move it around by moving the pan around; don’t use a spoon to stir anymore. Once it has been boiling for a while, 10 minutes or so and is getting a little bit thicker, pour into the bottom of the baking pan. Spread out so the whole bottom of the pan is covered. Let cool.

In blender combine:

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 can evaporated milk

1-  8 oz. cube of cream cheese

4 eggs

2 tablespoons Vanilla

Blend until all blended together.

Pour the Milk & Egg mixture on to the cooled off caramelized sugar. Put that Pan in a larger pan and fill the larger pan with about an inch or inch and a half of water. Put both pans into the Oven at 350 degrees and cook for about 40-45 minutes. The water in the bottom pan should be boiling, and the top of the flan should start to get a little bit golden brown. That’s when you know it’s done.

Once it has cooked. Take the small pan out of the big pan of water, and let cool for about 20-30 minutes on the counter. Then put the flan in the fridge and let cool in fridge for 2 hours. Once it is cooled in the fridge, take a butter knife to separate the edge of the flan from the pan, and get a large serving platter and flip the flan upside down on the serving platter. Give it some time upside down for all of the caramel to drip onto the flan; and ENJOY!!!

And here is my finished product:

YUM! It's nice having friends who are good cooks. :) She is determined to teach me some good authentic Mexican cooking and I can't wait!!! :) I'll share when we get to it!

While daddy's gone...

Ben went away to Seattle for the weekend to buy a flatbed truck for work, so it was just me and the kids for a weekend. 

Friday night I got a sitter and had a much needed girls night! :) And I didn't even feel guilty about it! :) 

We had a great time in between Tucker's two soccer games going to big R with Papa to see the baby chicks that they sell this time of year.

 

These kids are so animal crazy, I know one day I will have to give in. I just need to pick the right animal that I can handle. (no smell, no hair, no noise and no pee and poop, and super cute...is that too hard to find???) :)

 

 

I have to admit, that they were pretty cute little guys. Almost made me want to buy a coop for our backyard.

We had a party night that night where we got to do the things that the kids wanted to do all night. Board games were played, pizza was ate, and some Play Station was played. (much to Tuckers disappointment his mother doesn't play like his father, and he had to stop and teach me how to do all the moves, and he was getting frustrated with me!) :) He didn't mind though, he doesn't get to play that often with our playing time rules. I still don't know how I feel about having a gaming console in our home. I actually hate the idea of it, because the first few weeks we had it, it is all he wanted to do and all he could think about, he was so excited. But we are learning the ropes, and making rules and guidelines. It's growing on me because I figure soon he will just go to friends houses to play if he can't play here, and if we establish guidelines now, then maybe that will help him later curb the enthusiasm  (We shall see!) It was funny the other night the kids were playing outside, and he came in and said, 'Mom, I like playing outside WAY better than playing the play station. So, I think we should do an A B B pattern. A nights are play station nights, and then B nights are outside nights. So only one play station night for every two outside nights.' It was pretty funny, he had really been thinking about it. I still think that A B B might be too much. Maybe more like A B B B B :) This is all new territory for me, any suggestions out there????

 

Anyway, we had a fun family night at home relaxing. I had to get a pic of Tucker like this, when I looked over and he was just chillaxin' :)

   

Taylor, of course, had to follow after he brother:

   

Taylor does this funny new face sometimes when she is talking to me. She talks to me like she's an adult, and like if Tucker is being crazy, she'll look over at me, and make the face below and say, 'Mom, why is he being so crazy?' Or something like that! :) 

 

All-Star Fence Company

I haven't mentioned on the blog much about the MAJOR change in our family this past year. Yeah, sure there was the new house, and the new branch and the new baby on the way. (OK, those were all major things; it has been a year of CHANGE!) But another major one was Ben's work. He had been doing sales for a local Fencing company; and with the encouragement of family and friends, and with the circumstances at the old place, we decided to bite the bullet and start our own fence company! There was no way for Ben to progress and make much more money than he already was, and he wanted to feel like he had some personal ownership in the company and opportunities presented themselves, and we jumped! It was VERY nerve wracking, and very faith building to take the plunge and live on no income for a few months while things got sorted out and figured out. But it has been totally worth it.

Ben was made to be a business owner. (Besides the stress of having to create your own paycheck...eeek!) He is an excellent sales man, which is what he does mainly for the company, and he loves not having a 'boss' telling him what to do. He knows that he can make as much money as he puts into the work. And he is a worker! He has worked long long hours this past year building up an installation team, and marketing and getting his name out there, and I am so very proud of him!

It didn't come without some drama and some sacrifice, and there is still a long way to go, it's only been about a year and a half. But with his hard work and dedication, things have gone so wonderfully!

The name of the company is All-Star Fence and let me tell you, it is an All-Star company! :)  (Taylor calls it Uncle Fence Company  and it is so cute to hear her talk about Uncle Fence Company. :) ) I am so proud of my husband, who handles the stress and craziness that comes from starting/ owning your own business, and who has so far just absolutely rocked it!

Anyway, I just had to brag about my husband and put the plug in for our business which is so nerve wracking and exciting to be a part of! I figured it was time, and I just realized that I hadn't mentioned anything on the blog about it, and it is something that is a very BIG part of our lives right now. 

All-Star Fence Kids:

Ben recently came home from work with these T's for the kids. They loved them. They are just like the one's that their dad wears every day.

InstaFriday!!!

Just some pictures off my phone from the last few weeks. It's become a weekly tradition of getting blizzards and heading to the park. It's finally starting to get warm enough! Hallelujah!!! :)

My little monkey, she loves to climb: (so different from my very cautious Tucker who stays away from anything even remotely dangerous, on the playground anyway!)

 

Oh, and if you're in the market for a make up artist, I know a good one!

 

Morning walks with our friends are the best!!! I loved that Maggie was just sitting outside wearing her Tiger hat when we showed up to head on our walk. She wore it the whole time, crazy lady! :)

And afternoon play dates outside finally with our neighbor friends. It has been so much fun this week being able to get outside and be and meet our new neighbors. Tucker has already become good friends with this little guy, Cade who lives across the street. Although, the begging EVERYDAY after school to go to his house to see if he can play is getting a bit old. I don't want to scare them off by letting Tucker go over every day to ask if he can play, so I've tried to limit it. :) I am glad Tucker will know some kids in his school next year though, when he goes to Sunrise.

My good friend also lives right behind us and it is fun having her so close with her three boys. Her boys are so nice to my kids and always invite them over to play in the backyard when they are out playing. Tucker loves it!

And this silly girls seriously keeps me entertained EVERY SINGLE DAY! I can't get enough of her!

 

She also keeps her self entertained, and is so proud of herself when she does something funny or charming! :)

Of course, for the weekend it turned colder again, and daddy was finally able to make it to a soccer game with us. Taylor was so happy to have her daddy there. These two are as thick as thieves. She loves her some daddy!

{Telling secrets during Tuckers soccer game}

And while I love having my kids come in the morning and sleep and cuddle with me for a while, when they fall asleep in your bed because they think they own the place, you know you have to lay some rules down:

 

But I still love that sleeping beauty of mine!

And we were so blessed that on May Day, it started to get warm and beautiful again! This time I think it's here to stay, hallelujah!!! :) Even the pick up line at Tuckers school was beautiful! :)