Last Week Of School....Why Bother?

My mommy is a teacher, so is my mom-in-law. I want teachers to have a break, they deserve it, they work hard. It's the last week of school. I understand that not much teaching is going to go on this week and I understand that there are logistical details to take care of.

My daughter came home 2 days prior to school being out to tell me that all the desks in her room are gone. For the next two days she won't have a desk. She'll hang out on the floor all day? She's a little thing, 1st grade, so I'm all for circle time and such. But all day? Why send her? I'm thinking she's not learning a thing. There's no reason to remove desks from a classroom that is in use by children and I can't be alone on this.

I say teachers should infuse fun into school the last week of school but should still have a little bit of instruction time and I certainly think my child should have the privilege of having a desk the entire school year, not just most of the school year.

The History of Kim Hankins Via Concerts

I like music more than the average person. I just saw Garth on TV & it reminded me that I saw him in concert. I thought I'd list all the concerts I've seen. I"ll have to ask my girls (the 12 pack, my high school friends) which ones I forgot.

~WHITNEY HOUSTON, Jonathan Bulter opened. Our first concert. Amazing, it was during her "I Want To Dance With Somebody" days.
~STEVIE B in Miami. Crazy, it was so hot the firefighters were hosing us down and causing trips to the hospital because they were pointing it too close and burning people with the pressure.
~MILLI VANILLI. My proudest moment, really. This was such a excellent concert!
~NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK. "Oh oh oh oh oh..." If you don't understand this, I can't be your friend.
~DEBBIE GIBSON.....twice. I loved this chick. She had an all white stage and I just loved her!
~JODY WHATLEY. All the guys at our high school loved her so we called her a naughty name, we were jealous.
~ MICHAEL W SMITH. I loved Christian music even in high school & I loved him!
~AMY GRANT. She sang Friends with my friend Michael, awesome.
~PETRA. I don't remember loving them, but they were at Night of Joy (Disney for you non-Florida folks) and I always went.
~DEPECHE MODE. This was the night prior to graduation practice & we girls went with college boys. We should not have been allowed to go. They were fantastic but I saw lots of naughty stuff.
~METALLICA. Awesome, a very great day in my life, huge party prior to this concert.
~GUNS N ROSES. Awesome.
~FAITH NO MORE. It was scorching hot in Orlando's arena and we were losing our buzz, this was miserable. I vividly remember misery.
~GEORGE MICHAEL. We had awesome seats and he was so great. We pulled over to hairspray our hair again before we got to the concert, were we hoping George would notice us?
~DEF LEPPARD. The concert was "In The Round" I love them but they were too produced and not as exciting as we had hoped.
~BILLY JOEL. Piano Man. College. AKPsi. Perfect.
~ELTON JOHN. It rained, awesome though.
~GARTH BROOKS. Dinner in downtown Orlando then a horse and carriage ride to the concert. Great night. I'm from Sebring Florida, Friends In Low Places has special meaning to my life
~CRANBERRIES. The soundtrack of my life in 94. However, they stunk. She did everything slow for fear of moshing at The Edge. Moshing. Hilarious.
~COUNTING CROWS. Anna begins, phenomenal.
~WEIRD AL YANKOVIC. Is this music or comedy? I did not pay for this concert but I am child of the 80s and this may prove it.
~HOOTIE AND THE BLOWFISH. About 5 times. Fun when he's in a good mood.
~NICHOLE NORDEMAN. Oh, love her. I had never heard "I Am" prior and it's now a song I listen to all the time.
~COLBIE CAILLAT. My princess and I love Colbie. Any concert on a golf course with good weather is perfect.

~JOSH KELLEY. Katherine Heigl's husband and a very good singer!
~CELINE DION. Went to Vegas just for her. She's seriously beyond amazing. No one can top Celine. If you argue with me, you are simply wrong.
~BB KING. Eric and his dad like him. I'm amazed he is still singing. I will admit this was not an exciting concert but I had a great day with Eric and his parents and it was awesome to see someone so talented.

These are not in chronological order. I'm a bit fuzzy, I'll admit it. I know I'm missing many. That's why I'm making this list...so I won't forget. :) I just read this list to my husband and he agrees that I'm forgetting a lot of college concerts...things from Gator Growl and UCF Homecomings and such. I need to keep thinking.

My biggest regret in life: I didn't see Madonna. I can't believe I didn't see her! I just asked my girls why we missed it, Tia reminded me that Madonna was pricey even in the 80s. We were spoiled but not that spoiled. Good point.

Mom & Dad...you're perfect. I can't believe I saw all those concerts back when I made no money. ;)

In my spare time . . .

I love a good event! For that reason, I decided that I'd love to throw parties for free! Yes, if you are a busy body Mommy, you have probably guessed it, I am Hospitality Chair for PTA. I actually co-chair with someone who is awesome and that helps but it is still lots of work.

I love a great theme! For this year's Teacher Appreciate luncheon, we decided to do a Mexican Fiesta! So what does a busy working mommy with little spare time for this decide to do? That's right, build a margarita bar! Of course! Luckily, I have a builder for a husband so I will admit, I just designed the structure and he built it for me. Our favorite employee is amazing with a saw and 2x4's so this was a nice break for him. Then I spray painted it and shopped for fun stuff to cover it with a Viola, Margarita Bar! We had a 'bartender' there throughout the entire 3 hour event serving regular and strawberry 'margaritas' along with lemonade. It was lots of fun!

I and my awesome partner are taking on this position for one more year and then I will need an easier job!!

Happy Mother Day From The Twins

"Mom...I've got issues"

My little ballerina went on a playdate today. She got in my car and said "mom, I've got issues" in a very sassy (yet cute) tone. I said "what honey" and she said "my friend has TWO tvs in her room and one of them is a FLAT SCREEN and she has a BATHROOM in her room and I have none of that and it's not fair". I later figured out that the child has her own room with a tv and her own playroom which is the location of the flatscreen.

I'm not one to judge (ha ha, that was funny) and everyone can raise their children how they would like. But, come on, you're making it hard on the prudent parents don't you think?!! This is the same year that my daughter wrote a note to the tooth fairy to tell her $1 was not enough because all of her friends are getting webkinz for a lost tooth and she didn't want money, she wanted a webkinz.

Naturally, I told her that we thought tvs weren't for bedrooms and I didn't have a tv in my room until I married daddy (the truth...I didn't have a tv in my room until I lived with daddy) and she didn't need one now. I told her I'd her buy one for college. The bathroom....since we only have 2 kids I bet she'll have her own bathroom as a teenager...but I did not tell her that. ;)

-Kim

The Fairest Of Them All

I showed land today and got a sunburn....it's Monday morning. I went to my office & 3 people were in the lobby and one said "did you go to the beach??" Ha Ha...."no"....I patiently replied. I simply have no ability to tan and I stood outside looking at dirt for 20 minutes and I now look like I've been to the beach. People that tan have no idea how hard it is for us white folk. I say white...but come on, we're pink. :) I won't even go into our ability to blush even when we're not at all embarrassed, it happens hourly...I just blush if I think or don't think or whatever and I'm sure people wonder why, there is no why except I'm pink and go from light pink to dark pink daily. I'm sure people think I'm easily embarrassed, that's not it, I just turn pink easily. :) I prayed my children would not get my skin tone, my oldest has daddy's tan complexion but this one came out hot pink. ;) The only thing we have going for us is that when 'they' call us "The Fairest Of Them All" they are correct. ;) I have that written on my pink daughter's wall "You Are The Fairest Of Them All". She is and I am. as well.

-Kim

Hey Y'all....Paula Deen

My friend Gwenn & I went to Atlanta to the Metro Food & Entertaining Show. Paula was there. We had great seats (4th or 5th row I suppose?). Her sons are adorable and hilarious. They made 3 recipes...each with mayo. She made 3 recipes as well (well she spoke and her husband make the food). She made the orange brownies I had made for guests just the night prior...I thought that was quite a coincidence! I'm brilliant!! (ha ha)

Paula is just as funny and cute and as sweet as I thought. She was quick on her feet when she let the audience ask her questions and she was simply hilarious. One lady in the middle of the auditorium wanted one of her brownies and asked Paula to throw it. Paula did but it didn't go nearly as far as that lady wanted. Then the lady yelled "harder Paula!!" and Paula died laughing and moved on. Someone else made her a CD with a stick of butter on the cover. She truly impressed the crowd when Smithfield workers (her sponsor and a company that has union issues now) came up to her and yelled "Miss Paula" and Paula said "yes" and one of the girls said "how do you feel about how Smithfield treats its workers?!" Paula was definitely shaken for a moment and had to think for a minute. Then she said "Y'ALL...I'm not your chef, I'm your cook. I'm YOUR cook. I'm not your doctor. I'm your cook...not your politician". Everyone yelled and cheered for her, about 7 cops came out and the Smithfield girls walked off and she went on being funny and adorable. It was a GREAT two hours.

Prior to seeing Paula & her sons we shopped at the expo and learned about clingvinyl (brilliant) and went to the "Wine, Beer & Spirits Tasting" (you have to pay to get entry and it was well worth it). We didn't want beer or spirits but quickly found the wine area. There was a very nice man there serving tiny sample sizes and we said "we like wine, we're with you". That sold him, he loved us. Forget the sample sizes, he was filling us up every time. We had a wonderful wonderful wonderful time! I love Paula.....and Gwenn. ;)

-Kim

Bye Bye sewing machine

One thing I do for a living is sew. It was a BIG deal when my good old singer sewing machine broke while finishing a job. Of course I was at a client's house with a deadline. I rushed to Joanne's and bought a new one. Who knew that new machines have a self threader??????

My new machine is very similiar to my old one as they are both Singers. The bobbin is the same and it was quite simple to use. I taught myself how to sew out of sheer frustration at the cost of high end pillows and window treatments. I knew how much fabric cost and knew I could pull it off. In no time I was sewing for others. I enjoy it and love the creative process of finishing a project and learned with no 'bells and whistles'--I just sew straight lines! So I call my Mom to tell her that "my" sewing machine died. Which was her sewing machine. Which she then tells me that when I was in middle school, she bought it from the school's auction and that this machine was a cast off from 80's home ec classes--it wasn't good enough for 12 year old to hem dad's old pants on! Seriously. She thinks it was new in the 70s! And this is how I started my sewing career? It's funny right? A bit pathetic too but still, pretty funny!

The Most Thoughtful Home I've Ever Seen

Y'all know I'm a Realtor, right? I just showed a home that, for a moment, took us by surprise until my clients and I figured out that we were looking at the home of the nicest and most thoughtful man alive.

We enter the large laundry room. The washer & dryer are normally on the ground, as you know!! In this home, the dryer is on a very high platform, built in and tiled to match the floor. The dryer, on it's platform, is to the far left, by a wall. Then the washer is to the right and then next to that is another platform, not as high as the dryer platform with a laundry basket on it. We stared. It was a high end home given the price and size so we expected a traditional laundry room. I finally figured it out. This super husband built the platforms so his wife could lift the laundry from the hamper to the top loading washer without bending. Then she could take the wet clothes from the top loading washer and put them right into the front loading dryer without bending...all because of the platforms. We were impressed. Then we turned around and noticed he had taken a table and hinged it to the wall so it could fold down for folding and go back up for easy storage. We ventured upstairs. You know those little lights that come on when it's dark, they are flat and you can buy them at Lowes?? Well, he had two each on every stair, perfectly lined up. It wasn't the prettiest thing aesthetically in a home like this.....but boy is it thoughtful! THEN we entered a room and my client said "uh, Kim, what is this?" and I looked. He turned a bedroom into a dance studio for her. He laid hardwood in the center of the floor (with carpet on the perimeter) and she had a large mirror and there was a disco aerobics cd on top of her cd player which was right next to her work out bike. She has a whole room just for disco aerobics!! In the master, he took out part of the hanging area in the closet to give her a make up room. She had built ins for her curling iron and hair dryer, it lit up as you walked into the closet and it had hollywood lighting like ever queen deserves. Oh, every closet, even the pantry, lit up when the door opened. I could go on.....every room had a special touch to make her life easier!

This woman is living her dream! It was not the perfect home for my client but we all agreed that no man could love a woman more. Oh...if you're interested in the home...the flat screen is free. He put the flat screen in (yes 'in') the wall and put wood trim around it, I assume his queen preferred that look and now he can't take his tv. What a husband!

-Kim

Kim's Most Favorite Thing of 2008

Wicked could not have been better. I hate to sound like a crazed fan....but I am in love with Wicked!!!! The people that wrote the book and later the play are brilliant & I adore them!! I loved this show! I can't believe how dark the book was compared to the humor infused in the show. It was hilarious. Go see Wicked if you grew up watching Wizard of Oz. I think you'll miss out if you don't see it. I have twin flying to New York this year to see it (I kid not).

"It's good to see me, isn't it? No need to answer, that was rhetorical."-Glinda

"I happen to be genuinely self absorbed and deeply shallow" -Fiyero

"Something's Wrong, I didn't get my way" -Glinda

"I'm so happy I could melt" -Elphaba

"Magic Wands. Must they have a point?" -Glinda

-Kim

Toilets Toilets Everywhere

I showed a custom built home this week...it was a lovely home. It has 6 bathrooms so it was a large, large home. 6 bathrooms....with 8 toilets (and a bidet). I was happy my clients knew what a bidet was. I had a listing with a bidet once and it was embarrassing to have answer the "what is that thing?" question. "Um...it cleans your you know what, yeah, I know, that's odd....yeah I know, it's also funny".

Back to the toilets. 8 toilets with 6 bathrooms. Where were the other 2 toilets you ask? One was in the 3 car garage. Just right there on a wall in this wonderful garage, next to a freezer and utility sink. So, if you're mowing the yard and need a break, no need to use the 6 pottys in your home....you have a potty right there in the garage. The other misplaced toilet is located in the downstairs laundry room. The laundry room is right next to, yes you guessed it, a bathroom. I can't begin to justify the thinking.

Ultimately, my clients chose a home with 4 full bathrooms & 1 half bath. Only 5 toilets all in a traditional space made just for going potty. Very good thinking!
-Kim

Bubbly Fun In Augusta GA

We don't get concerts in Augusta. We typically drive to Charlotte or Atlanta for events. However, Masters Weeks is different. Colbie Caillat opened for Hootie. Love Hootie, we've seen him a lot. We were SO excited for Colbie. She was great & we had fun...a lot of fun! We love Masters Week!! -Kim

Easter Dinner As Prepared By A Multi-Tasking Ditz

So....I'm a mother of 2 excitable children & the cook & a girl who likes to look pretty & a
hostess & a church volunteer & an assistant to the Easter Bunny.

On Easter morning I was taking pictures of Easter Basket Awe, trying to look pretty for Easter Mass, trying to make sure my family and my guests had their coffee and pastries while they were getting ready for church, working on getting my Easter Lesson by the front door so I would be prepared for my lesson during Children's Liturgy (children's church), ensuring my children looked adorable for church and then making sure Easter Dinner was prepped since twin and family had a 7 hour drive and we needed to eat shortly after arriving home from church. I had to leave to get to church early since our daughter was singing in the children's choir. In my haste my husband tried to help (he's a good cook as well) and he threw the ham in a pan with all the stuff I tossed at him prior to leaving.....pineapple, cloves, brown sugar and a glaze. I told him to put it in the oven on 200 as I left.

About 3 hours later we came home. We're smart people. Smart multi-tasking people who were more worried about getting to Mass then the ham apparently (which is a good way to prioritize life I believe). I opened the door to the oven immediately and laughed for about 2 minutes as my family all drifted into the kitchen laughing as well. The ham that was the centerpiece of our dinner was black...we dumped sugar on our ham and left for hours?!?! What were we thinking!!! Hilarious. I had to change out of my dress because I knew life could get messy. I laughed, changed and then pulled my hideous ham out of the oven. I asked mom to take her best "June Cleaver" shot of me and my ham. Screw perfection. ;) I'm fabulous under pressure. While I was thinking about all my great sides and discussing the fact that a meatless dinner may be a possibility, I simply picked the layer of sugar off the ham, cut away the dark parts, put the good pieces (about 80% of it was good) in a pan and then dumped some fresh pineapple and brown sugar on it. Viola, pre-sliced ham for ease at the buffet. Happy Easter!!
-Kim

Spring Baking!

HAPPY EASTER!! Here's my bunny cake made with the William Sonoma bunny pan,

a lot of chocolate and even more patience!!

-Kim

Memories Expo--Scrapbook Convention!

Oh ladies, you MUST join me in this! So many people I know are into scrapbooking but don't know about these expos! I think that the perception is that it's either for the die hards that scrapbook in groups for 14 hours/day or for businesses. It is for both--they have midnight scrapbooks and I'll tell you a bit about these folks later and owners of SB stores go to see new products but for us moms who love to scrapbook it is just plain shopping heaven!

It is just like an indoor art festival. Are you picturing it? Booths with vendors. Some are stores that travel and sell their stuff at the expos, some are small businesses that chooose to get their product out there by selling at expos and they usually make their own products and/or have unique items that you don't see everywhere and some are brands themselves that blitz their entire line in a booth for one stop shopping. It makes my heart beat faster just telling you about it! You can go and pay $8 to enter the expo and then just shop and shop and shop!!!! Take a break for a diet coke and you decide to leave when you can't carry any more bags!

And speaking of bags, lets talk about those that stay up all night and scrapbook. Now don't be offended if this is you because I have many friends that do this. I'm talking about the ones that are a BIT over the top. They travel multiple states to do this and they haul more stuff than I have in my entire kitchen. This years expo had new "policies" because of the literal luggage that people bring for their overnight scraps. I mean, here's my thing, by the time you load up all that stuff, couldn't you have just gotten a few pages done at home? I just don't get it. They have bag after bag after bag and their bags loop and stack together so they can transport it all. I'm not kidding, the money that I have spent in the decade worth of scrapbooking I've done, these women have invested in just their bags and cart boxes. So back to the policy, since people used to haul their suitcases on wheels through the expo to load up on the stuff they buy, that I doubt they could ever use, they had to make a no luggage and no stroller policy! Because people also took strollers with no babies! Next year, I'll have to take a picture of the check bag area--it is hysterical! I am NOT one to do things on a small scale but let me tell you I am a minimalist when it comes to some of the crowd at this place!

But back to WHY you should attend:

I already told you about the shopping but the other fun thing is to take classes! I signed up for 4 classes. My favorite was the flip flop book! It's hard to know what you are signing up for and it's always a bit of a mystery in regard to figuring out what you get based on the description. I loved them all but this one is the cutest. thing. ever. You pay $20-30 depending on the class and each class is 1-2 hours long and they give you very detailed kits and 'how to' info. They walk you through it all in class but what you don't finish, you take home and can easily finish. I did this book almost all in the class and tweaked it at home. It has tons of tabs and a mini fold out book and a box to store it in that has more tags on it.

How amazing is this book?? It is so cute and I adore it and am proud that I made it but at the same time, it is so simple to complete their kits, it's not like I did anything special.

We are going on a family cruise in October and I'm saving this for that trip! So look for your next Memory Expo and go, I swear it's fun!! You can look here for one near you!!

http://www.scrapbookexpo.com/Index.html

Rascal Flatts

Builder Jim, Me, Kay and husband John

For the record, I wouldn't say I was a "country music fan". If the song mentions boots, trucks, break ups, dogs, fishin'--you know those songs, I really can't stand it. A bit of twang and I cringe. But there are a few that not only can I handle but that I LOVE! Sugarland is fabulous and anything by Rascal Flatts ends up a favorite. Who can't connect with God Bless The Broken Road? So, I was very excited when my friend Kay got us tickets! Kay is my PTA Hospitality committee partner and I knew we'd double date together as well as we worked together! We went to dinner at the Orlando Arena before the concert and it was great to drink wine and just walk upstairs instead of worrying about who was driving!!

Do you see them behind us? They extended the stage over the crowd on the floor by having a bridge cross over them and used this second stage right in front of us quite a bit! It was a great concert and a great night out!

Resolutions.....I still like them

Yes, I know...people hate New Year Resolutions. Perhaps I'm a simple girl, but goals are still something I need and enjoy. Here you go...Kim's New Year's Resolutions:

• Don't be a witch. I'm a woman, we can all be witchy. I'm going to try not to be witchy ever, unless it's a service issue because I have high expectations and I won't lower my expectations of others. (yes, that was meant to be funny, I'm not crazy)


• Get Trugreen to replace the plants they killed. That relates to the above resolution. I may have to get sassy, and I will. They killed my plants.


• Lose all my baby weight. Yeah, you've noticed my kids aren't babies, shut up. ;) Those two angels plus infertility & miscarriage has really screwed with my scale. That's ending this year....the scale is just doing down...not up!


• Get caught up on my scrapbooking. I asked twin if I can even call myself a scrapbooker since I am so behind. This is my biggest issue in life this year.


• Seriously consider being a caterer. The world needs me. Well, Augusta needs me. Okay, maybe they don't need me since my ambition would just be to feed them dessert, but they want me....they just don't know it yet.


• Be a better wife. I'm a really fabulous wife so this will be difficult. But, I'm sure I can find an area to improve. Perhaps take the plastic off his dry cleaning within the hour the clothes arrive home? I could find a new little container to put his dental floss things in, that's something that needs attention.


• Be a better mom. I'm a good mommy but I need to aim for perfection. I should read to them nightly. I should hide veggies in their food. I should make sure they really wash their feet in the bath. I should take them to the park more. I should make sure they're never rushed by being absolutely organized each afternoon. I'll try!


• My husband says (jokingly) that I could spend our savings $15 a time. I will try to decrease the spending of our disposable income & increase our long term savings. That means staying out of Target, Kohls & Marshalls (I'm in Augusta, I'm limited).


• Download more songs on my ipod.


• I go to church weekly & we're very active at church but I should do some study of some sort on my own or with a group. I am easily distracted and honestly bored so I never stick with anything! Is there a woman's bible study geared towards distracted mothers? What am I looking for.....a 3 minute bible study loaded with humor? I'd say my expectations need adjustment.

Perhaps I'll check in with you mid year and tell you how I'm doing. Stay tuned!

-Kim

A Present To Look Forward To

My cute daughter and I are going to see Wicked in April!! Here is a trailer from youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0m6sclZkH0&NR=1

I'll tell you all about it!

My boys' favorite thing to do

Legos! They play with their legos all the time and James shops on lego.com every chance he gets. I just love this picture of all 3 of my boys, so content and focused while trying to complete a Christmas present.

Christmas Eve Brunch

Every year, I host brunch on Christmas Eve. I love starting the holiday as early as possible and this forces me to be DONE with all holiday shopping and errands. We welcome family and freinds and enjoy being a part of the start of their holiday as well!

Here are just a few decorating pictures from that party:

Coffee Bar

Cups from the hot cocoa area on the pool deck

Toppings for Waffle Bar

Rice Krispy Treat wreath, donut trees, carrot cake muffins

Candy trees that Kim made and Reindeer Food to go home with every family

Ribbon trees that I made

My sweet boys with their favorite babysitter!


Merry Christmas!

Bethlehem, a 6 year old's perspective

I just got this from Southern Living At Home. Look closely. Do you see it? Is there anything sweeter than your 6 year old little boy integrating his dinasours into your nativity scene?

Slinky Incident With Multiple Injuries Foils Mommy Play Date

This weekend I had plans to shop all day Friday & all day Saturday with 2 girlfriends. We had sitters or friends picking up our kids from school, our husbands were scheduled to be super dads all weekend, we were ready to relax and have fun and we deserved it!! Myself and a friend from Augusta drove to Charlotte to meet a mutual friend who moved last year. We pulled up to a very large and very nice mall. Our time was valuable......only 48 hours with no kids, no husbands and no responsibilities but to shop......so we chose to valet, like all smart mothers would. We open the doors to hand our keys to the cute valet and a phone rings. My Charlotte friend says "oh no" and we immediately knew that it was definitely a school for one of her 3 kids. We kind of sink a little and try not to smirk (because it was inevitable, right?). We hear "uh huh" "oh no" and then "he needs stitches?". Okay, so we know it's her 7th grade son, her other 2 kids are girls. My Augusta friend is a doctor's wife (Chief of ER Pediatrics I believe) so she knows a lot about "kid emergencies". She very quickly says "how does a middle school student have an accident at school?" I naively giggle and say "good point". Cute valet guys says "you're not shopping are you?" He was very amused. We are still refraining from laughter for fear that he is hurt and say "um, no". We climb in the car as she hangs up the phone and says "he was in an accident involving a slinky and needs to go to the ER, he cut his hand". Okay....we lose it. We laughed and laughed......not only at our bad luck and the bad timing...but a SLINKY was involved? We glance back at the big beautiful mall as we depart.

She calls her son back to get more details because my smart medical friend is asking a lot of valid questions. The slinky incident involved multiple students and there are multiple injuries, he has a big cut but it's not bleeding anymore so we determine there is an issue but he's doing fine. Okay, hysterics. A slinky incident with multiple injuries. I need to mention, recently this friend of ours was in a car accident involving a raccoon and prior to that her last vehicular accident involved an automatic car wash. To say her luck is amusing is an understatement. We had been looking forward to this day for a month and it was foiled by a slinky. Of course........it was foiled by a slinky. We take her to her car, she directs us to a mall closer to her son's school and she departs. 4 stitches and 3 hours later our friend joins us. She missed hours of shopping and a great brownie. We all missed lunch because we did not want to enjoy lunch without her.

The update: three students were injured, two required medical attention. Apparently, the kids get a "health break" for 15 minutes so they can get some fresh air (they do this in prisons, right?). Her son was innocently playing football. Allegedly, two kids had a metal slinky that they pulled apart between them. A football player ran into the slinky, it flew and hit two other players, one being our friend's sweet son. The school is now trying to assess whether there was malicious intent with the boys who had the slinky and suspension is being discussed. We should all say a quick prayer for the kiddos, my friend's son loves playing guitar and he is inconvenienced and in pain and we feel bad for him!

That evening, over a wonderful dinner and a bottle of Merlot AND Riesling, we giggled a lot as we reflected over our day. As moms we are always ready to run to our children's aid anytime they need us. As moms will will continue making idyllic plans to reward ourselves. As friends we will continue to smile and giggle (and laugh 'til we cry) as we realize that idyllic plans are sometimes impossible but watching life unfold together is half the fun.

-Kim

Sugar Cube House

I have fun at Christmas. - Kim

Best Cryptic Christmas Present Phone Call 2007

My Brother: Hi Kim

Me: Hey!

My Brother: So, you make a lot of cupcakes right?

Me: Oh yes

My Brother: Do you travel with them?

Me: Definitely, to school all the time

My Brother: Do you find them difficult to transport?

Me (pause and try not to giggle): Why, yes, they are very difficult to transport actually!

My Brother: Okay, love you, talk to you later

Me: Love you Bye!

Hilarious. Hey, good thinking! I own about every baking thing a girl like me needs and I can't believe I don't have one of those!

-Kim

Gingerbread Gingerbread Gingerbread

Hi. My name is Kim and I'm addicted to Gingerbread. As you learn more about me, you'll learn that I'm really addicted to gingerbread. I adore it and I have fun making my annual house! Here is my 2007 home.

-Kim

Shot Glass.....A Mother's New Use

I read "Real Simple". They always have ideas for different uses of everyday items. Like line your drawers with dryer sheets. Well my parents visited this week. I don't keep appliances on my counter. I put the toaster in a cabinet and we take it down daily. We use cinnamon sugar often and I've always mixed it in a pastry duster (the thing you'd put powder sugar in to dust on a cake). Well, we needed more and mom and dad used a shot glass! It's tall and thin so it fits well in the cabinet and we, honestly, never use our shot glasses now that we're old and boring. So...viola....a great use for an items that's traditionally used for something entirely different! Other uses for shot glasses that I've implemented this year...holding toothpicks which I use often when dying my frosting. One day we'll be cool again and use the shot glasses, right? Really, who has time for shots?

-Kim

I Love My Self Absorbed Daughter

I always prayed I would not have a weak, meek child and I do not. Katie is hilarious and enjoys her life thoroughly...she giggles all the time. She enjoys keeping herself happy, just like her mom. My husband thinks I'm a bit self-absorbed but he's amused by me. I told Eric the story I'm about to tell you and he smirked and said "she's your child honey". Today Kate and Derrick were given $20 each for Secret Santa at school. The school buys tons of gifts and pre-wraps them. The kids pick out gifts, for their loved ones, and a volunteer labels them after talking to the child. Parents don't go since this is their time to buy gifts for us. Tonight Kate had her Secret Santa bag filled with wrapped gifts and said "can we open our presents?". I said "No way, they're for Christmas and there's nothing for you in your bag anyway". She said "yes there is" and laughed. I took her bag and took out the gifts to see:
"From: KATIE To: ME".
Some volunteer probably got a kick out of that. She cracked up, thoroughly amused with herself. As a mother who loves that I have a strong decisive child, I was thrilled that she made the decision that she deserved a little something for herself too. She's adorable.

-Kim

You CAN make a red hot tree!

Kim says you can't but you can! See, Kim was just too precise! Here is the proof! Throw out the rules and get messy and it's a breeze!


In case you want to do it, here's what I did:

• put a large plate down below where you are working
• cover a small area with hot glue
• drop red hots on it
• quickly dump red glitter over the same area
• use a tiny paint brush to ently get the glitter off the candy so it's only in the spaces
• keep going!

Done, a red hot tree!!! I tried it with regular glue but they literally slipped off. Hot glue is the only thing that dries fast enough. My 8 year old helped me by dumping the red hots on and we had a blast!

Here are the three trees that I grouped together:



I bought the set of trees from http://www.orientaltrading.com/, aren't they cute? They came with the bases, trees and then a stick that joined them together so they were easy to decorate separately. The tall one is candy canes and was very tedious but so worth it! The small one was really too small for any candy so I just used ribbon and I think it turned out cute. I used glitter and more ribbon for the bases.

I love a good Christmas craft!!

Kiersten

Hosting A Gingerbread Party

I host a gingerbread party every year. I could go on and on about how to host a gingerbread party and would be happy to elaborate if anyone would like. For now, I wanted to show you my candy. Candy is obviously a very big part of a gingerbread party and I have so much fun getting all the candy ready! Yes, I have a list so I make sure I don't miss anything critical to gingerbread homes!

Merry Christmas!

-Kim

Christmas, Candy & Crafts

I love crafts when it involves home decor. Check out my easy creations. I don't even think I need to explain how to do these things. Grab a hot glue gun and have fun. Oh, and get a strong hook, your candy cane wreath will be heavy.

Kim's Craft Tip: don't ever bother trying to hot glue red hots to any form. I tried to make mini wreaths with red hots. 4 blisters later I was amazed......I was being so neat but there was no way to keep the gloss of the candy. The glue got on the candy due to the gun or my fingers and it was a mess. Just don't do it. I just saved you hours, I am so kind.

-Kim