The Joy of Living

Watching my kids play outdoors I become more and more grateful to live in Southern California, where the sun shines 364 days a year...ok, some years it's 363. One of the things I've realized, letting my kids play outside, is that Mikayla has picked up my childhood love of anything that moves. These poor, defenseless snails, slugs, and caterpillars instantly become "pets" and she carries them around to all of her destinations. One particular day, Mikayla had latched onto a "really soft" caterpillar that was trembling and coiled in a ball to fend off the attack of the giant human. Unfortunately for him another, smaller, human named Tyler took a particular interest in petting his "softness" and practically squished the poor thing onto the patio table. Mikayla screamed (which seems to be normal whenever Tyler is in her vicinity) and told Tyler not to kill her caterpillar. Placed under a bucket over a patio table with holes in it, the caterpillar made a narrow escape to freedom while Mikayla was forced to come inside and eat lunch. I'm sure she'll find another victim the next time we play in the yard.

So this was the last batch of cupcakes our O'Keefe and Merritt oven produced before it was ripped out of the wall and placed in the garage to wait for someone to take it away. It served me well, even though it was well over 50 degrees hotter than it needed to be and squeaked enough to wake the dead every time I opened the door. I'll miss the retro look and the large window but I'm looking forward to the new model. Mikayla of course had to sample the cupcakes but after she ate the frosting off, the cupcake itself was no longer desired.

Our kitchen in its stripped down state. We removed the oven and the cooktop and took off all of the handles. Tomorrow morning, the guys will produce the dust of 10 carpentry shops as they haul off the old and get ready for the new. Let me tell you, trying to find a piece of tupperware or a cutting board in all the boxed up kitchen items is like trying to find a coin Mikayla misplaced somewhere in the house...impossible. I can only hope it lasts a week, as promised.

Well, we're still celebrating Mikayla's birthday. If you sign up on Coldstone Creamery's website and give them your birthdate, you get a free cup of ice cream. We decided to use it the day before it expired and told Mikayla that it was her choice. As always, her first choice is Mint and Chip but they don't really have that flavor so we had to go with mommy's first choice...cookie dough with caramel and chocolate chips with fudge swirls. My daughter can't read yet so I just read off the ones that looked good to me and I knew she liked cookie dough so it was a winner. We all dug into the mound of calories and completely indulged. It took both kids a little bit longer to get to sleep that night but, to get Coldstone, it's worth it!

Just a photo depicting the voracious appetite of my son. Yes, he has his own pop tart covered in frosting yet he's eyeing his sister's equally delicious pop tart wondering whether he should swap or just grab it and run. Looking at the sweatshirt, yes, he does still drool once in a while. On another note, the two of them played on this stepstool for at least 1/2 an hour. It's enough for me to pack up all the toys they aren't playing with and getting back the space in my living room again.