craft deprivation

about a month ago, i made a pilgrimage to fabric mecca (aka "hancock's of paducah" - not to be confused with the junky "hancock fabrics" chain that rarely carries a cute fabric line) and made several wonderful purchases.

the fabric has been waiting for me ever since.

before james left, i accepted that i would not be able to craft while he was gone.

accept it.

let it go.

as a result, our home has been fairly harmonious. (usually, when i try to do something crafty, the children are unconsciously drawn to me and instantly need something badly: a drink, a snack, a clean diaper - you get the picture.)

however, the fabric is calling me.

before james left, it wasn't as bad because i didn't have a plan for the fabic, and i was NOT about to cut into it without a plan! you fail to plan, you plan to fail, am i right?!

anyhoo, let's just say that this is lending an extra edge to the anticipation of james' return.

is it sunday yet?

just a sample of the cuteness...

budding photographer

kalei and koa have been having some fun with the camera these last few days and, i must say, kalei has some real potential. (koa is still coordinating the holding-the-button-down-long-enough-to-actually-take-a-picture thing.) i think these pictures really capture the essence of koa. see what i get to live with? i'm the luckiest mama in the whole world!!

soccer saturdays

soccer season has begun!

today was kalei's first game, and she had fun running around (until she got too hot, that is. next time, we'll take an umbrella and a cooler!).

kawelo enjoyed the snacks....

koa enjoyed the friends....

...and kalei enjoyed the beautiful day!

the weather has been super mild the past few days and lulled me into a false sense of security - it doesn't matter if it's 80 degrees, it's still boiling if there's no shade! (and, go figure, there aren't any trees or shade-giving structures snuggled up next to these soccer fields.) so, (bad mom alert!) poor kalei didn't have cold drinks waiting for her (just room temperature ones) and kawelo might've gotten just a teensy bit sunburned. overall, though, kalei decided she still likes soccer. she's still not uber-competitive (which is totally fine by us! i think i was the only parent out there yelling "have fun out there!"), but it'll get her used to sports for when she's in third grade and can start the sport of her destiny: volleyball!

children of the corn

this year, we couldn't decide on a garden plot, so we planted veggies in our flower beds around our deck and in the flower pots on the deck. (at this point, is anyone wondering why there aren't flowers in our flower beds and pots? the answer is: at some point in the near future we will have to replace the deck and i didn't want established flower beds trampled during that effort. doesn't that sound nicer than i was too lazy to plant flowers?) anyhoo, even though we got a late start, the corn is now tassled and little baby ears of corn are showing their silken heads! we also have several green tomatoes and the pumpkins and peppers are flowering!

it's enough to inspire brotherly love.

i love their stair-stepper heights here.

i'm hoping the kids will be more open to eating veggies we have grown ourselves. i'll keep you posted as we test this theory.

cheesy noodle pirate

the other night, kalei & koa had ramen noodles for dinner (i don't normally serve them, but i had promised mac & cheese only to discover we were out, and ,thankfully, koa got a kick out of the "curly noodles"). kawelo wanted this hat on and was promptly infected with the pirate spirit as he repeatedly try to steal their noodle booty (you know what i mean). (btw, "noodle booty" would make a great name for a band or workout video, don't you think?)

today, as i was taking kawelo's picture, he actually started saying "eeeeeeeese" when i told him to say "cheese" - he's brilliant, i tell you, brilliant! (and adorable and spoiled and whiny, at the moment...) does "eeeeeeeese" count as a first word?

enough excitement for one day

today, we had two notable adventures: one i anticipate reliving every year, and one i never want to experience again. i finally looked at the information kalei's new teacher gave us last thursday and realized that there was an actual school supplies list in there! (amazingly, not much was required for kindergarten - just tissues and hand sanitizer.) luckily, i take advantage of the 1 & 5 cent back-to-school deals every fall, so there were just a few things we needed to go out and buy. shopping for school supplies was very exciting for kalei and kawelo (who liked to squeal and point to anything brightly colored), but sad for koa. koa would really like to go to school this year. thankfully, he's easily distracted and fruit snacks and capri sun cheered him up, and he's old enough to understand that he gets to go next year. the other adventure was horrific. picture this: it's 11:00 p.m., you decide to take the trash out, as soon as the door to the garage shuts behind you, you realize that the door is locked, you're shoeless, your neighbors are all asleep, and there is not a spare key anywhere outside your home - not hidden outside, not at the neighbor's - nowhere. oh, and your husband is halfway around the world. that was me about half an hour ago. after some intense praying and about 15 minutes of banging on kalei's window (that's right - 15!!), she woke up and let me in the garage. (again, picture this: me, standing on our a/c unit, knocking on kalei's window until my knuckles are raw, feeling like wee willie winkie as i'm yelling in her window for her to wake up. ...on second thought, maybe i'm glad all the neighbors were asleep.....) i was so worried that i had freaked her out, but she just let me in with a quizzical look and went straight back to bed. i love that girl! what an exciting day we've had! almost as exciting as james' trip out to china, but i'll let him write about that on his blog. the important thing is that kalei is so excited about starting first grade tomorrow, she doesn't seem to be permanently damaged from her late-night ordeal, and tomorrow is a whole new day with its own adventures that will include having keys made! yes!! bring it on!

pics of the day

well, he actually went through with it! james left early this morning to catch a flight to chicago, and then on to shanghai. to think, he'd rather go to china and the olympics for two weeks than hang around here and do household chores! (by the way, james, that fence will still need fixing when you get back.) anyhoo, we're excited for him, but miss him like crazyheads. kalei and koa each said today how much they miss their papa, and he'd only been gone a few hours! i guess you just can't get too much of a good thing. i'm going to try to post more in the next few weeks so james won't miss a thing going on around here. so, sorry if these posts bore you out of your skulls - if you want action, go check out james' olympics blog. (woohoo - kayak racing!!) here are todays top pics:

we love you and miss you, james!!!