Mia's Preschool Party

Mia Kate's preschool party was very calm and enjoyed by all!

So who's the new kid?

Craft time? Are you kidding?

I will sit here and eat every last morsel of this chocolate cupcake.

Room "Dad" Brad whipped up this schnazzy little "Pin the Tail on the Black Cat." The deer/squirrels are a mural on the wall.

The kids decorated buckets with foam stickers .

The cutest spider cupcakes!


Tinkerbell enjoyed her first school party!

Poor kid

This was an email titled "Best Halloween" costume. Look closely at his upper lip.

Nevertheless, Rock Chalk!

Update: Since posting this I have received this email 3 other times in one day!

Shake your groove thang.....

Too bad red isn't my color or I might just get a job at Target. Just kidding, but what I witnessed this morning looked pretty fun. Jilli and I went to get a battery for my camera (the reason for not updating any pics from the weekend) after the preschool drop off. We were browsing through the dollar aisle and I noticed a sea of red gathering for a morning meeting. What seemed to be the supervisor was telling them about all of the recent stock and then concluded with something about a $20 gift certificate for a contest.

At this point I was done in the dollar aisle and headed over to the batteries, where a clerk asked if I needed help. "No" I replied, but the clerk said "You might want to stick around, it might get entertaining." At that point someone seriously turned on some music and each person in the group performed their best dance move. The guy break dancing on the floor got LOUD cheers from his colleagues and won!

Brad laughed at this story, I guess they don't have dance offs at Delta.

My babies

05.18.07

Brad always helps Mia brush her teeth before bedtime. This evening as I stood in the doorway watching I became quite sad for two reasons......

1) Mia is now old enough to use mouthwash, swish it around, and even spit it out. Big kids do this!

2) When it was Jilli's turn Brad said "Okay Buggie, your a big girl, stand on the stool (step stool) and I will help you."

Not my baby, the caboose to our little train, standing up big and tall to brush her wittle teef. I find that Brad and I don't expect as much from her as her big sis, but she surprises us with some of her abilities. Now once in the bathroom she will say "potty" and actually go once we sit her up there. Her vocabulary has exploded in the past few weeks, even combining two words such as
"All done" and "Bye Daddy." Unfortunately she is really enjoying two words "NO" and "Mine!" maybe those will slip off if we don't encourage it.

As for Miss Mia she has preschool pictures tomorrow, big stuff, already has her dress laid out. She is quite excited because she gets to wear her "fancy" shoes tomorrow instead of her tennis shoes, which I make her wear each day to preschool.

Maybe tomorrow we will take things nice and slow, play extra hard, they are only little once, and I am SO GLAD to be home with them to enjoy it! Thanks Bradley!

Tink & Bug

It seems that Halloween comes a little earlier than normal this year. Tonight was our first event, Trunk or Treat at our church/school. The girls will also be sporting costumes at bible study, gymnastics, playgroup, preschool and of course on Halloween. Whew!

My little one made her debut as Jilli "Bug" Elizabeth and Mia was beautiful as Tinkerbell! The pictures do not do Jilli's new costume justice, she had to wear some extra gear due to the cold. I am quite proud of making it on short notice. Someone asked us if we dressed her as a Russian (see the hat). I am hoping to get some really cute ones of Jilli to post sometime this week, Miss Photogenic already got some cute ones, first try, like always.

Tinkerbell!

Russian Ladybug
Mom & Buggy

Tinkerbell and Dad

Mom & Tinkerbell

Rule Breaker

So just a few minutes ago I was reading our church bulletin online, Mia Kate was peacefully playing dollhouse, and Jillian was dancing around to Jack's Big Music Show on t.v. Then I hear "slurp slurp" and look over to find this......

Just drinkin' and chillin' I guess? So, I quickly ran and got the camera (thank my lucky stars in this time she didn't spill) and honestly when I squatted to take the picture she said "Cheese" with the straw in her mouth. No biggie Mom, pretty comfy, thanks for the smoothie, tastes good, what me? breaking rules?

If you live at this house we try to act appropriately with white carpet..........

1) We only eat and drink in the kitchen, unless your name is Jillian.

2) We definitely don't bring STRAWBERRY SMOOTHIES into the living room, unless your name is Jillian.

3) We feel ashamed for breaking the rules, unless your name is Jillian.

4) We don't run from our mother laughing carrying the smoothie, unless your name is Jillian.

Love you Jilli Bug!


Also, I think it might be a good idea for Brad's boss to invest in a defibrillator for their office, just in case his heart goes into arrest after reading posts like this!

Short Duck

Jilli was going to be a duck for Halloween for two reasons

1) she LOVES ducks
2) she waddles like a duck

but, the duck costume we were going to borrow from a friend is HUGE on her, she is short.

I am SO proud of myself because it was yesterday that I realized it didn't fit and today when I finished her new costume. Usually I suffer from "PADD" or Project Attention Deficit Disorder, but I whipped out a new costume in about 2 hours this afternoon! I will still take her picture in the duck costume, but it is so big it would just be disasterous for her to wear it.

My new gig...........

involves some researching of items on the internet regarding our faith and finding this little ditty....

toe-tally gross

We returned several hours ago from the doctor, where I ran into my friend Cheryl and a mom who used to me in Kindermusik with us. Great place to see friends! Ha Ha. Last week Brad and I noticed that Jillian's two big toenails were coming off at the cuticle. It was like a crack horizontally across each big toe. I kind of brushed it off because it didn't seem to bother her. I showed my family this weekend and they said I should get them looked at.

So last night I did a little research on the Internet, which caused me to get really WORRIED, which caused Brad to get really ANNOYED because I was flipping out. Note to self, never read medical data on the Internet again. After much drama, I decided to just call the nurse in the morning and ask her if she thought it was necessary for me to bring her in or just wait until her 18 month well check. Obviously, the nurse said to bring her in. Diagnosis..........onychomadesis or the nail separating from the cuticle and falling off, duh. This is actually either an effect from her recent episode of Hand Foot Mouth disease (like the mouth blisters and bodily sores weren't gross enough) or from foot trauma (like shoving her chubby feet in shoes?). Whatever the case, I am pretty grossed out, the nails are actually starting to separate even more. This would probably be a good time to NOT add a picture to accommodate my story!

Lynch Reunion

Also this weekend we traveled to Stillwater, Oklahoma for a family reunion. This reunion gathers my Grandma Ruby's siblings and their families. It was nice to spend time with this side of my family, whom we really don't see much. Here are some of my favorite pictures!

Liam & Mia Kate
The Reuter Girls
Spencer & Ava
Brad & Jilli
Ava
Ava enjoys the Little Rascal!
Mia & Liam play catch.
Jillian enjoys potluck feasts....mmm good.
She is a hoot!
Cam, Jilli, Laura, Liam, Mia & Ava
Jilli says "Cheese!"
Grandma Ruby would be proud!


Shorty!
People are always amazed when I say I am short compared to my brother and sister (and the rest of my Furman family). I am average height for a female,
but shorty McGee around these folks.

Craft time.
Uncle Spencer and Mia
Good husband! I look over and see Brad setting the food out, I will keep him!
Good daughter! "Look here girls, I will take your picture!" Only one taker, Mia.

Cousins

Camryn, Mia, Jillian & Ava perched to watch the trains.
Camryn & Mia....won't be long until Cam is taller than Mia!

This weekend we traveled to my mom's house. Our girls were quite pleasant on the 3 hour car ride and I even napped in the car! My mom's house was decked out with Halloween decorations and looked great. The girls enjoyed playing with Grandma Jan, Terry, and cousins Camryn and Ava. Thanks for the visit Mom!

This morning.........

we enjoyed the confines of our home until it was story time at the library. I did make one phone call to Bradley asking if I could turn on the heater, it was really cold in here. Apparently he needs to do some seasonal check up on the heater, so we had red noses. My daughters decided to snuggle to keep warm. I found Mia Kate up in her chair reading with Strawberry Shortcake and Jillian beside the chair mumbling "Up Up!" while holding Minnie Mouse. So I put her beside her big sister, covered them with a quilt, and they sat there for 45 minutes snuggling and reading books.

A short while later we were treated to a lovely concert by Jillian and Minne Mouse.

Happy Friday! Hope you all have a great weekend!

Vintage

Sometime, somehow, these vintage Royals pajamas were passed on to my girls. Brad swears they were his as a kid, I think they were his cousins. Anyways, I am guessing they are circa 1985 or around when the Royals were a winning team. Laughing at my math and Brad's idea that he wore them considering he would have been 8 years old when the Royal's won the World Series. A little tight Brad! Mia has worn them, but given Jilli's belly, they are hilarious on her. I think with the cold weather they have seen their final days at this Reuter household.

My favorite story about them is when Jilli's Grandpa Frank (unfortunately a Mizzou fan) saw them earlier this summer and said "Staci, don't you think you could dress her in a winning team?" I wittingly replied "Don't worry Frank, she has lots of KU stuff." Hee Hee.

Lately

I feel bad for not blogging the past couple of days, but we have a couple of upcoming events this weekend that will be quite blog worthy! So what have I been up to?

Monday: Terrible Horrible No Good Day! Haven't had one in awhile, but didn't feel like writing anything creative!

1) go to the dentist and I have to get a crown on my tooth (I chipped it!) MK was confused that I was going to get a crown in my mouth, what does a 3 year old girl think of as a crown.........hint........princess. Yeah, that wouldn't fit.

2) after waiting two weeks after a service call for my 4 month old dryer, I am FINALLY informed that the replacement part is on back order until November 10th!

3) the crock part of my crock pot that my husband shattered (while doing the dishes) can't be replaced, I liked that one!

So to cheer me up I decided to recover my kitchen chairs and I might add they make me want to sing "Let's get funky funky!" (I will post a pic soon!)

Tuesday: Secret Meeting

So something very, very awesome literally fell into my hands one morning after mass. I can't tell you exactly what is going on yet because it is just getting started......but it involves some of my passions; religion for kids, writing, the Internet(so not a passion, but addiction?), and some very dear ladies! I can't wait to share more with you.........

Wednesday: Cooking Club

Tonight my cooking club shared crock pot favorites (why number 3 on Monday was drama) at my house. I will share some of the recipes later.

Just for kicks I am adding a picture of my girls from last feast of St. Nicholas, December 6th. Our tradition is that he brings the girls matching holiday pajamas, something religious, a piece of fruit, and candy in a boot outside of their bedroom door. This is on my mind because I found their jammies and religious items!

If you are counting, yes, Mia slept with a pacifier until she almost three. Bothers me, but it was the truth. I won't tell you how old her dad was before he got rid of his..............

Fun Food: Belated Day 4 & 5

I think I was on my computer for maybe 15 minutes total last Thursday and Friday. I was at the Pumpkin Patch, Volleyball, Christmas Shopping, and doing some fall cleaning!

Happy Cooking!

Chocolate Cake Cookies (easy....from my friend Alyssa)
1 box chocolate cake mix
½ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
powdered sugar

Combine cake mix, oil, and eggs in a large bowl until well combined. Roll into balls and then roll the balls in powdered sugar. Place on cookie sheet and bake @ 350 degrees for 7-9 minutes.

White Chicken Chili (My favorite dish to make!)
4 cans great northern beans (drained)
2 cans chopped green chilies
1 can chicken broth
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
¼ tsp chili powder
2 cups shredded Colby jack cheese
1 lb chicken breast

Sprinkle chicken breast with chili powder, bake until cooked. Shred chicken and place in crock-pot with all other ingredients. Stir. Cook on low for 2 hours or until heated through.

Too good to be true.........

I knew something wasn't right when I was ready to go to the KU game at least 30 minutes early. Food was ready, backpack was packed, showered, dressed, out the door, swung by Krispy Kreme for tailgate treats, and we were in Lawrence by 8:30 when we weren't supposed to meet my family until 9:00. We parked and I was loading Jilli in the stroller when Brad said "Here is my wallet, put it somewhere safe, like with the tickets." Sick to my stomach..........."Oh, the tickets that are sitting in my desk at home." I walked through campus seriously thinking I could have puked..........Brad said "I guess we will just tailgate." I strolled passed the bookstore and noticed that they were having a sidewalk sale so I secretly decided that it wouldn't be so bad, at least I could shop. In the end, several friends and relatives at our tailgate had random extras, so we did get to go!

Mia enjoys watching the band come down the hill. I love watching her shake her pom poms to the beat.

Jilli enjoys waddling around the tailgate and eating off of every one's plate. She is starting to clap and yell at the game.

Lovers. I also think that I am shrinking in height. I used to be as tall as my husband. Can you get osteoporosis at 29?

Ta da!

Brad and Grandma Betty

How Tall this Fall?

MK 2007
MK 2008
Jillian 2007
Jillian 2008
2007
2008