Saturday, May 30, 2009

Life in the City...

I just love our property here in town. We live right in the middle of a small city yet you would never know it. When we built our home, we had the builder leave the trees and brush in the back and sides of our property. We did this so we could have some privacy and the fact that we like the natural way of things. Well, since we've lived here, we've had our share of wild animals stopping by. So far, we've seen a number of raccoons, armadillos, sand hill cranes, hawks, woodpeckers, turtles, ONE snake (my least favorite), and this morning, we woke up to some deer which was very strange to us as you don't normally see those in the city! We all sat there watching momma deer and her baby deer munching on tree leaves for the longest time. How cool is that! Of course, I pulled out the camera and took some pics for you! The images are a bit fuzzy as I took the photos through the window and the screen so I wouldn't scare them away. Enjoy!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

night night...

"Night night"... A phrase that's heard around our house more now than ever. Well, I guess that's to be expected now that the bunk beds have been put up. Kaylee has been sleeping there for two nights now and has been doing very well in the "big girl bed" as we call it. Our only issue has been that the lower bunk escapee gets up about 5 to 6 times a night to get her "drink of water" that she all of a sudden needs now that she can get out of her own bed! It's cute though - well, for the first few times, then it gets old telling her "night night" over and over again until she stays put and falls asleep! Oh well, she'll learn.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

New beds

We did it... the bunk beds are up! They went together rather nicely. No grumbling, swearing and most importantly... no extra parts! Needless to say, that girls are VERY excited to have new beds and bedding. I personally love the bedding Jennah picked out. It is very cute and quite girly as only one would expect! It came from Target (sorry my Wal-Mart friends)! Both girls came home from school and ran immediately into the room "to check it out"! None the less, lots of squeals with excitement and plenty of resting now! Ahhhh, it's never been so quiet after school! Here are some pics: (the walls are pink - not purple-ish as in the 1st photo)



Pre-K Concert

Today was Kaylee's Pre-K program and graduation ceremony. It was by far the cutest school program I've been to. These little boys and girls are all in the exceptional student education pre-k program and all did such a wonderful job singing today. I am proud of all of them especially Kaylee. She's come such a long way in just the last few months. I am also very thankful for her teachers, their assistants and the physical and speech therapists for helping our little one throughout the past year. We have all learned so much from them. Anyway, I could go on but instead, I'll share a few pics. You can also view more pics of Kaylee's program at http://www.flickr.com/photos/karagines/sets/72157618794115715/


Kaylee's classmates
The Assistant principal - shaking hands.

Kaylee and her certificate of completion.
Mrs. Ann & Kaylee's friend Brennan.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Hail...

Mike and I took the girls to his cousins house today for a Memorial Day cookout. We had a great time and as usual, the food was awesome. Yes, we went to Deb's (you know, I think she's secretly related to Paula Dean.. yada yada yada). Anyway, on our way home, I was driving because it's been a "rule" that Mike drives the "to there" part and I drive the "from there" part. Well, first, I'll just say that there have only been a few occasions to where I've been in fear of my life. My drive home tonight was one of those. I happened to look up at the sky which was a weird shade of orange-ish grey. Now it was getting close to 9pm so it was getting dark out as well. All of a sudden, I drove into a thunderstorm like no other I'd ever driven through. And then... the hail began to fall! Yes, that's right - Hail! I pulled over and I do mean WAY over because I could not see the road at all and therefore was afraid other drivers might not see me. The kids were in the backseat and I could tell they were frightened as well. Mike also seemed to have a bit of fear in him. It was like someone was dumping marbles on us. We waited on the side of the road along with a few other vehicles for about 15 minutes, until I could see the road again. When that finally happened, I drove home with my white knuckle grip until I hit the driveway! Finally, we were home and safe - Thank God! I'll tell you, I so need to get used to these storms but really, hail in Florida is a bad thing and one I'll never get used to!
Oh, yes, the only other time I was this scared was when we brought Kaylee home from the hospital after she was born and bunked out in our closet as the tornado passed over our neighborhood! Luckily, we were being watched over that night as well.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Cucumber sandwiches..

So, it's Memorial Day and we're headed off to Debbie's house for the day. I'm bringing those famous cucumber sandwiches but this time, I'm actually baking the bread for it here at home. Here's the recipe... they're really yummy!

1 loaf of baguette bread cut into 1/2 inch or so slices

1 8oz pkg of cream cheese softened

1 tbsp mayo (not miracle whip)

1 pkt of dry Italian salad dressing mix

1 or 2 cucumbers sliced (I also peel off some of the skin)

Basically, you mix the cream cheese, mayo and salad dressing mix in a bowl, spread some on the sliced bread and top it with a cucumber slice. Now, you don't want to make these too far ahead of time because the bread will get soggy but you can make the mixture a day ahead if you want, just remember to let it soften a little so you can spread it on the bread when you are ready. I've found this also makes a good dip for pretzels! mmmmmmm

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Slacker...

Ok, so I've been slacking when it comes to my blog lately. Well, here's the scoop: It's been raining every single day this past week, non-stop. So, there's been no going outside, no having our "girls nights out", and basically nothing to write about. We did go to my Aunt's new home yesterday for a little get together which was very nice. After that, we headed home in the monsoon type weather again! Oh well, maybe something exciting will happen between now and tomorrow to blog about!