Kiersten’s Blog

I always have these grand ideas of exciting things to do for birthday cakes.  Okay, not really grand.  I try to keep it simple, but exciting.  This year London is really excited to bring to school the “Friday snack surprise.”  She gets to bring it tomorrow to celebrate her birthday.  We decided to make rainbow cupcakes.  It sounded simple enough.  She wasn’t able to help me and I haven’t had time to even begin until 9:00 this evening when the rest of my family was in bed.  The project wasn’t too bad.  I made 2 cake mixes together, dyed the batter in 4 different bright colors, layered the colors in cupcake pans, and put them in the oven.  15 minutes later, they were totally and completely burnt.  I salvaged 12 of the mini cupcakes and 1 regular sized one.  I managed to make 24 more mini cupcakes with the leftover batter.  At least those turned out well.  Now I’m making some devil’s food, just to make sure I have enough, since we’re also having cupcakes on Saturday.  Does anybody have any ideas of what to do with burnt cupcakes?  They’re great on the inside!

A note to the ants:  If you’re thinking about coming back tonight, please be kind and take the burnt cupcakes because if you take the perfect ones, there will be consequences.  Death will follow.

I'm pretty sure they don't come much cuter than this!

I’m having so much fun getting to know Ashton!  Since London is now in school, this is the first time that we have had a lot of quality time, just the two of us.  I’m quickly learning how different he is from his big sister.  And the same.  Today he found one of her hair clips and wanted it in his hair.  He’s obsessed with princesses, especially Cinderella, and whenever he sees a princess, he can’t stop saying “Lella, Lella.”  But he loves cars.  He can’t get enough of cars.  He carries them (and balls) around all day, telling me all about them.  “Caw, caw, caw, ba, ba, ba.”  I’m quickly learning that nothing is spill-proof.  Somehow he manages to get lids off almost any cup and dump the contents on the floor.  Apparently it’s a lot more fun that way, especially when the liquid doesn’t soak in and he can play in it!

He has recently learned how to climb up and stand on a stool, and is so proud of himself.  He reminds me that nap time is important.  When 9 a.m. rolls around, he’s saying, “na, na, na,” and running to get his bear.  Big little guys need a lot of sleep.  And they need a lot of food.  He never forgets to tell me that he needs a “sna”.  On our way to run a quick errand today, I neglected to bring snacks or water.  As soon as we got in the car he was saying, “sna, ma, sna, ma” (for some reason, “ma” means water).  He was pretty mad at me when I told him that I had neither.  But he quickly forgave me and we moved on.  He loves to snuggle and he also loves to wrestle.  He loves running around with both hands above his head and yelling.  He thinks it’s hilarious.  And it is.  He’s such a funny little guy and I love watching him learn and grow.

London lost her second tooth tonight.  It’s been loose for a couple of weeks now; pretty much ever since her first one fell out.  Last night she was throwing a fit because she wanted us to pull it out.  Tonight she was throwing a fit because she didn’t want her tooth to come out.  Like last time, when it finally did come out, I think it scared her, making her cry.  She’s over it now and excited for the tooth fairy to come so that she can spend her money at the dollar store.

I have been sewing a lot more lately.  It seems like I always have a project in the works.  Now that I say that, I have nothing right now that I’ve started, just things that I keep meaning to start.  I have all sorts of ideas for gifts to give people and I’m kind of excited about the prospect of giving home-made Christmas gifts this year.  Of course not everything will be home-made, but I have thought of a number of things I need to start working on.  I was really excited about my most recent project.  I made a mei tai baby carrier and a matching nursing cover for a friend having a baby.  As I was making it, I was getting jealous of how cute and practical it turned out and I wanted one for me.  I don’t even have a baby anymore!  And I have a mei tai!  It’s just not as nice as Christina’s!  Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I used the tutorial here.

This is just a typical summer day when I was about six.

Two years ago for London’s birthday, we bought her a violin.  She was 3.  It wasn’t much more than replacing the toy violin that she had previously worn out and broken.  She was excited to get the instrument.  It was a piece of junk.  But she used it more as a toy than an actual instrument.  Until recently, that had been the only really small violin I had in my possession.  Now I have more.  I took them from my parents house this summer.  One fits London perfectly.  It’s in good shape and it actually somewhat stays in tune (which is more than I can say for the tiny one we have).  Since getting these new instruments, London has been asking me if she can learn how to play.  I wish I knew a violin teacher.  Oh wait, I do.  But for my daughter?  I’m not so sure.  The problem is, she thinks she knows more than I do.  Finally the other day I sat down with her to teach her a little bit.  I can honestly say that it’s not something I really want to do.  I would love for her to learn to play the violin, but I’m not sure I’m capable of teaching her.  I know she’s still young, but I started when I was four.  It seems like I shouldn’t stop her if she’s showing interest.  But where can I find a teacher as cheap as her mom?  Anyone up for a trade?

London got in her first fight at school today.  7 days in.  We’re in trouble.  Okay, it wasn’t a real fight.  She was just bossing another girl around and telling her how to do the puzzle “right.”  I’m not sure if there was screaming or yelling.  I wouldn’t be surprised.  Then, later (or maybe earlier.  I don’t know.  I wasn’t there) she got in trouble for talking when she should have been listening.  (She was telling another girl how cool the Tower of Terror is and couldn’t believe that this girl had never been to Disneyland so she told her that she “had, had, had to go since it is SO much fun.”)  She told me later that her teacher told her that she needed to go to bed earlier tonight.  Hmm.  Maybe she’s not ready for kindergarten after all.  And she went to bed early.

The little guy didn't like the big mouse so much. I was kind of surprised because while we were standing in line to see Mickey, Ashton was so excited to tell me all about the "ma." But he was quite of most of the characters.

We go to Disneyland a lot.  Probably too much.  In fact, London told me yesterday that we need to move into the hotel by Disneyland so we can go there even more often.  I asked her what we would do about school and dance and Daddy’s work.  She assured me that we could find another school, another dance studio, and Daddy could find another job.  And the house?  She doesn’t like it anyway.  It’s scary.  The Grand Californian Hotel would be a much nicer place to live, according to her.  Okay, who am I kidding?  She’s right.  That place is amazing.  And I’m sure we’ll never stay there again, but that’s beside the point.  My intention today is to give you (who are planning trips to Disneyland with kids) a couple of tips.  These are a few little tricks that I have learned.

Stroller Switches: These are really a life saver with little ones.  You and whatever other adult you are with can still hit up the big rides and not have to stand in line twice.  The way it works is, part of your party waits in line for the ride.  When they get near the front, there will be a worker from whom they can ask for a stroller switch.  On some rides (like Space Mountain) it’s at the beginning of the line.  While they’re waiting in line, you can keep the kids occupied with other things.  Then when you meet up again, take the stroller switch to the front of the line and you’re on!  The stroller switch is only good for 2 people.  Also, they only work on rides that kids can’t go on.  For example, since you can take a baby on Buzz Lightyear, you can’t use a stroller switch.

Fast Passes: Some rides have fast pass distribution.  They are usually the ones that have long lines.  You swipe your ticket and a ticket is printed for you, telling you when you can come back to get right on the ride.  Sometimes you still have to wait in a bit of a line, but it’s nothing compared to the line that you would have to wait in normally.  I think you can only get 1 or 2 fast passes at a time.

Make Small World your last ride: The last time we went to Disneyland (a couple of weeks ago) the kids were getting cranky and ready to go home.  Usually, though, when it’s time to leave, they don’t want to get back into the stroller and actually leave the park.  This time was different.  It just so happened that the last ride we rode was “Small World.”  They were both completely mesmerized and were so calm by the end of it, that getting into the stroller was easy and we left the park with no fits.  I don’t think that’s ever happened before.

Baby Center: Both Disneyland and California Adventure have a baby center.  You can find it on the map.  This place is a must use for anybody with small children.  There are nice changing tables, small toilets, rocking chairs to nurse or pump, high chairs, purified water, and a number of other helps that a mother can use.  Of course for normal diaper changes I just use the closest restroom, but it’s nice to go into the baby center to cool off and relax for a minute.  It’s quiet and calm there.  I’ve pumped and/or nursed there many times.

I’m sure I’ll think of more things as time passes (or the next time I haul my kids to Disneyland) and as I do, I’ll add to the list.

I love this picture because it reminds me of how Kenton always was as a kid: dirty with wet pants.

I just don’t get it.  Is it really necessary?  Is anything really that important that you have to TEXT???  I’ve heard all of the arguments.  I know what you’ll all say, but why not just pick up the phone and call the person?  It takes less time.  It’s more personal.  If they don’t answer, it’s probably because they are either busy or don’t want to talk to you.  Leave a message.  They’ll get back to you on their time.  Remember 10 years ago when very few people had cell phones and we were all just fine?  Sure, sometimes we couldn’t get ahold of people all the time, but we lived through it.  Taylor’s all about not having cell phones at all.  I’m not willing to go that far because they’re really useful, especially in an emergency, but I use mine for a phone, not a personal texting machine.  I understand that texting can be useful at times, but usually when people are holding text conversations, it’s because they are in a place where it is inappropriate to be calling somebody.  FYI, that probably means that it’s inappropriate to be texting.  And don’t get me started on the whole texting while driving thing.  That’s just dumb.

Now that we’ve established how dumb texting is, I also don’t get why every person on the planet expects that every other person who has a cell phone (or a home phone for that matter) has a texting plan.  I, for one, don’t.  As stated above, I think texting is dumb and I don’t do it, so why would I pay an extra $20/month to get texts from people that I don’t want to get in the first place?  I don’t ever text back.  It takes WAY too long.  I know with practice I could get faster, but I don’t want to.  Remember?  It’s dumb.  It’s much easier to just pick up the phone and call.  I wish I could have an automatic text reply to people who text me, but like I said, I have to pay for every. single. text.  This may make me sound old and out of the technology loop, but I just don’t get it.