Cross your fingers and cross 'em good!

So, here's the skinny....we are leaving tomorrow morning, bright and early, to go to DISNEYLAND! Woohoo, right? Well, today, of all days, Ben decided to get sick. He has been complaining of a headache and not eating much all day. Poor little guy! He has been perfectly fine all summer, not even a hint of a runny nose and BAM! Nastiness. So, he is currently snoozing in bed, but when I wake him up at 5:30 in the morning, I hope that I find a healthy, excited little boy. I would be so disappointed if he wasn't able to fully enjoy this trip. He's going to love it!

So, speaking of Ben, I got his registration information for preschool today. SAD! I can't believe that my baby is old enough to go to school! He starts on his 4th birthday--September 7. So, he is going to immediately be the coolest dude in the class when he shows up with treats! Unfortunately, due to allergies, the treats must be store bought, so I guess my super-elaborate, multi-layered fondant cake will not ever come to fruition. sigh. (The teacher actually said that the treats have to be store bought due to allergies, so they must come with a list of ingredients. She said, "Pretzels are good, or rice krispie treats." Seriously? Pretzels? For MY boy's birthday? PSHAW!!! He will be totin' something with sugar as the #1 ingredient on that precious ingredient list, thankyouverymuch!)

I will end with a little commentary on my girl. She is growing up WAY too fast! She has lost her two front teeth, so her lisp is even more pronounced, but she is definitely not a little girl any more. Her best buddy du jour is Caden. Caden, for some reason, watched the commercial for the Eclipse movie and has convinced Kinsey that he is a werewolf. He loves to wear jeans and no shirt and climb trees and run fast. All under the watchful eye of my girl. Yesterday at the park, he was climbing a tree and she said, "Mommy! Caden ith tho thtrong!" (Translation: Caden is so strong!") She is smitten. Until the next werewolf comes along and sweeps her off of her feet, that is!

See you in a few days! Pray that my boy is healthy and we return unscathed and happy!!!

The fair is here!

FYI, my daughter is obsessed with the fair. Seriously. Every year when it arrives, she turns into a freak, and the day it leaves she starts talking about when it will be back. Now I, on the other hand, love the fair as much as she does, but I have to be cool about it. You know, because I am all mature and stuff! So, I see the twinkling lights, the cotton candy swinging from the corn dog stand and hear the blaring music and my inner teenager says, "EEEEEEEE!!! Cotton candy! EEEEEE! Spinny rides! Let's go let's go let's go!!!!" But, my very mature, sophisticated exterior says, "Yes, Kinsey, I know it looks fun, but let's slow down." What an inner struggle. It wipes me out!

But, this year? This year was special! Here's the news....My. girl. loves. spinny. RIDES!!! I got to go on the Tilt-a-whirl! TWICE! I got to go on the go-around-in-a-circle-forwards-and-then-backwards ride...TWICE!! She loved it and my heart was exploding with pride and joy! I thought that I was going to have to live out my existence in kiddie roller coaster land, but NO! Doug and Ben can sit by the sidelines and watch the girls have all the fun!

I can't wait until next year. I have already decided that Kinsey and I are going alone and we are going to go on everything. I think that seven is old enough for the upside-down-spin-you-all-around ride, right? I can't wait! Let's go let's go let's go!!!!!

Sleepover!?!?!?

Am I crazy? I actually told Kinsey that she could have a sleepover tonight and she is currently upstairs in bed with her friend, Sara. They have been super cute all day, but for some reason, I am not anticipating a good night's sleep. This makes me slightly sad, for some reason. My baby girl is growing up! :(

Speaking of growing up, let's talk about Ben's pee, shall we? I was perusing some of my older posts and I saw that potty training wasn't going so well at all. huh. Inneresting. I should have chilled out a bit, because you know what finally worked? Friggin' nothing! He just decided to do it one day. So, all of the stress and pressure and treats and charts and timers and bribes did exactly ZERO! I let him run around pantsless one day and bingo bango bongo....he grabs himself and says, "I'm gonna PEEEEEEEEEE!" We ran to the bathroom, threw him up on the toilet and ta-daaaaaa! He never looked back. He has been on an airplane ride, in 3 different time zones, all over the place and it's done. No accidents. May we take a moment of silence to properly respect this moment?

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Thank you!

The only downside to the whole diaper free living thing is the easy access to his junk. He is constantly rooting around in his pants and giggling. Great. I get to deal with this now for the next 15 years until he leaves for college! Oh! And there is his use of the word "penis" CONSTANTLY! "Mommy, sorry I ran into your penis." "Mommy, does Erik have a penis? Does Erik's daddy have a penis? Does Erik's mommy have a penis?" "GOOK! That dog has a PENIS!!!!"

lovely.

I'm not making any promises....

I, again, am attempting to keep up with this darn thing. I haven't yet decided why I am finding it so difficult. The time consumption? Nah. The impossible task of coming up with witty things to say? Hardly. I am just going to go with pure, utter head-in-the-clouds-itude. I keep forgetting about it! I seem to be more interested in my facebook status that this old thing. But, I forget that I have many fans out there, waiting with bated breath, to see what is happening with me and mine. Shame on me. SHAME! So, here is yet another half-hearted attempt to update the world on my ever so exciting and multi-faceted life!

Summer. What do you think of? I think of sleep. Lots of it. Sun. Pool. Sunburns. Barbeques. Patios. Sunscreen. Fairs.

Aaaah, what a perfect season, right? Well, what has this summer entailed? PAIN!!!! PAIN!!! I had a headache all summer. It started in early May and it ended last week. Last Tuesday to be exact. So, for me, Summer has sucked. Big time. And, I am realizing that I sucked. Big time. My poor kids duck and cover when they see me coming. The big old grouchy pants lady that snaps and them and makes them eat their vegetables. Oooooh! Scary! But, thanks to lots of drugs and an ambitious dentist who worked a small miracle (after I sat in his office and cried and yelled at him and made him do SOMETHING!) I am ready for the summer to begin!

But, alas. The summer is nearly over. And, while we have done some really fun things....visiting Yaya and Papa, visiting the family in Indiana, having Eddie here, taking a train to the top of Pike's Peak, lots of pool days, lots of play dates, it's time to have some REAL fun. And ,where is the REAL fun? You guessed it! DISNEYLAND!!! How better to recoup the loss of a summer? Hopping on a plane and chilling with Mickey and friends. We leave on Saturday and I can't wait! My kids are going to crap themselves when we get there! And, the best part? My friend Tammy and her daughter Kaia are joining us! I can't wait to get the girls together again and see the excitement on their faces. My fancy new camera will be at the ready!

So, I will leave my update at that. There is excitement to come. School starts in 14 days and those days will be filled with SUMMER!!!

ps...Ben is potty trained! woop woop! But, that deserves a post of it's own, so stay tuned!!

Now what?

The olympics are over. Sad. SAD!! Now what am I supposed to do with my dreary, dreary life?

Oh, hey! I got an idea? I'm going to Vegas, baby! Woo-hoo! I've got a couple of friends who need a fourth chick and they called me and said, "Um, Lori? Do you want to go? I mean, if not, it's ok, but we, um, need another person, but if you are busy, it's totally understanda...." "YES!!!!!!!"

See ya suckers! After 16 days of Olympic filled chaos, I am blowing off this popstand and rolling into sin city. What shall I do while I am there, you wonder? Well, numero uno on my agenda is take a nap! Numero Dos? Eh. Read a book? A magazine? Catch up on world events? I mean, what else is there to do????

So, enough of that. Let me fill you in on the last few days....

We moved Ben into his big boy bed! While I was extremely sad about this turn of events, he has done very well. He stays in there for bedtime and naps, even when he isn't sleeping. I hope that this remains the case for a while, but my expectations are very low.

My parents went on a CRUISE! This qualifies as news because they have not been on a "real" vacation since Kinsey was born. And, they have never been on an all-inclusive, and from what I have heard, my dad might need to break out the elastic waist pants! Ice Cream + All you can Eat = Trouble!

I had a Pampered Chef party and successfully cleaned my entire house. So well that my husband thinks that it is time for me to ditch my cleaning lady. When will I ever learn??

I signed up for a 10k on Mother's Day. That's in 2 months. That's 6 miles. (6.2 to be exact). I ran 3 miles on the treadmill yesterday and I thought that my lungs were going to shoot out of my throat. Should be a fun race, eh?

One more....

Tonight was a very telling night. I had a total "flash-forward" moment and I didn't like it one bit! Picture this, my daugher, wearing pajamas and a super messy ponytail, standing with her feet apart, hands on hips, saying, "MOM!!! YOU. ARE. OVER. REACTING!!!!!!" Oh dear. What on earth have I gotten myself into?

I shall leave you with a couple of pictures. Please note my boy and his blue hair. He found Kinsey's super cool hair paint and decided that he wanted blue hair. It was the cutest thing ever. He went to church like that (my mothers of preschoolers class thingy) and then we brought Doug lunch. Ben marched right up to the president of the company and said, "HEY! Gook at my hay-uh! It's BYOOOOOO!" (translation: HEY! Look at my hair! It's blue!)

what the heck is going on? Where have I been?

I don't have much time, I just wanted to stop by and give y'all an update. I just can't sleep at night because I know that my many followers are worried sick regarding my whereabouts! But, alas, all is well in the Kaczmarek house. But, the Olympics are on, for Pete's sake! I am a devout Olympic viewer and I will NOT sacrifice them for any man or child. NO! I will watch my Apolo Ohno and my Linday Vonn until I pass out from exhaustion. (which, by the way, is where I am at today. *yawn*)

So, I don't have time to update a piddly little blog, when there is tv to be watched and Americans to be cheered on! And, for those of you who are reading this, go get your arse on the couch where it belongs!

See you soon! The commercial is over!

The best weekend ever!

Hello people. I am now 36 years old. My big day was on Friday and I actually woke up feeling older! How does that happen? My back hurts, I've got wrinkles. sheesh! I guess I'm no spring chicken!

But, I do have one saving grace....Doug! He will always be MUCH older than me! :)

For my birthday weekend, he rented an awesome house for us in Estes Park. We took the kids up there on Friday afternoon and had a fabulous weekend. We all played and laughed and ate together. (Emphasis on the eating. ugh) And, the best part of the weekend was the Olympic Opening ceremonies! Woo-hoo! It was easily the BEST WEEKEND EVER!

I did learn a few things over the weekend...

1. Doug is awesome. He is so good to me and spoils me rotten. Sometimes he doesn't get the credit that he deserves. Sorry about that! :)

2. Kinsey does not feel cold. She and Doug went sledding and frolicking the snow while Ben and I hung out in the car. Apparantly he got his mom's "cold genes"!

3. Ben is capable of falling out of a bed and not feeling it. I guess he didn't get his mom's "pain genes"!

4. I wish I could be an Olympic athlete. Think there is any room for me on the old ladies curling team? I have my own broom!

5. Estes Park, and Colorado in general, is absolutely beautiful. I feel like I take it for granted sometimes. I am lucky to live in such a gorgeous place.

6. Microbrews at 7000 feet will do you in.

That is ENOUGH learning for one weekend. I am too old for life lessons!