Gett'em while they're hot....

Some of you may know about my most recent, ongoing pet project but for those of you who don't.....a few years ago Sheila told me about a service their school provided in which parents could purchase prepackaged school supply kits directly from the school, saving said parents of the chaotic running around that inevitably comes with school supply shopping. Everything the kid needs all wrapped up in a nice little package....has there ever been a better idea, I wondered? I thought about this idea off and on since and finally at the beginning of this school year, I decided it was time to make a move. Breaking out of my self-imposed shell, I contacted our PTA President and pitched the idea. She loved it and asked me if I would be interested in spearheading it. I told her I was all over it and the research began. After months of contacting various companies who provide such a service, creating surveys, graphs, charts and informational handouts and sending an obscene number of emails, the deal was finally struck. I had located a local company (at the suggestion of Kristin and Amanda) that was able to give me a better price than all the other national companies and would fulfill the needs of the parents who had requested we try to stay local if possible.

As I am sure all of you know, I take my projects, however minor they may be, very personal and so when my first foray into the school community didn't turn out well, I was rather dejected. But as they say, you have to get right back on the horse and so I participated in Kindergarten registration, hocking my wares. I am so extremely pleased to report the response I received this evening was overwhelming positive. In fact, I even made my first, second and third sales (all to the same parent but still)! I am totally stoked about this and just wanted to share my success with you all.

"Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try."~Author Unknown

42 years and counting.....

Tomorrow my in-law's, John and Connie, will celebrate their 42nd anniversary. What a wonderful milestone and more and more unheard of these days. Of course, my mind has been spinning gift ideas around and around and while a tangible gift of some sort will be extended, expressing my gratitude and admiration for the two of them is a gift that I feel is more meaningful. We have all heard the in-law horror stories. Books have been written and movies have been made on the subject of "monster-in-laws". I, however, have been blessed with a completely different experience. From day one, John and Connie have welcomed me into their family and treated me as one of their own. I clearly remember my first time meeting them and while I felt some trepidation and uneasiness to be expected when meeting my future husband's parents, they immediately made me feel comfortable and at home.

There has been a bit of a learning curve for me while entrenching myself in the Kolb family. From family gatherings that go into the wee hours to figuring out how to feed a group of 30+, I had some adjusting to do but I am slowly but surely working it out. I can stay up as late with the best of them and have purchased the necessary cookware to prepare large quantities of food.


Not only have John and Connie always treated me as a member of the clan but Jason's brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews have always allowed me into their inner sanctum as well. I believe this is a testament to the entire group's strong commitment to family. They all listen, joke, advise and humor me as though I am one of the brood.


On the eve of this momentous occassion, I would just like to take this opportunity to thank John and Connie. For always being there for Jason and I but never being overbearing. For being wonderful grandparents to the girls. For providing a strong foundation of family for Jason which has in turn translated into the devoted husband and father he is. I love you, I respect you and I admire you. Happy Anniversary.

"Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning."

Who says you can't go home.....

Wow! If I went to St. James every weekend, I don't think I would ever need to do another sit up or crunch. My stomach right now is sore from laughing so much. Whether it was watching Dad skateboard.....

Watching Josh make this face.....

Or do this....

Listening to all of the "Rock Band" performances.......

Or hanging out at the Legion with my bestie..........

I think I was pretty much laughing all weekend. What a great family I have! The girls always have such a great time in STJ really no matter what they are doing.

I am lucky to have two brothers and a sister-in-law I love hanging out with.

I am lucky to have my parents who I know I can count on always and no matter how many times I call a day, still keep answering the phone. Thank you Mom and Dad for everything~feeding us, housing us, entertaining us, babysitting and at the risk of sounding totally sappy and cheesy, loving us.

"When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses."~Joyce Brothers

Disney or Bust!

Jason and I have been discussing for quite some time taking a trip to celebrate 10 years of wedded bliss. Although a traditional anniversary trip would most likely involve just the couple, we decided it would be more fun to include the girls. The discussions began with the Cayman Islands, moved to Mexico, up the coast to San Diego and finally settled in Orlando. Plans were finalized and the trip was booked for May 24-31.

This is what happens when you tell your kids they are going to Disney World!

May 24th is going to seem a very long ways away for these three!

Leprechauns and the Indian in the Cupboard....

St. Patrick's Day is turning out to be quite an interesting holiday for us! The celebrating began on Saturday with a quick stop at Clifford's house for his heaping pot of corned beef. I was still full from Jason's delectable brisket he made on his favorite appliance but Jason sampled Cliff's masterpiece and declared it to be succulent. How could it not be when the chef looks like this....

From Cliff's house, we ventured downtown to find the most primo parade viewing spot. Once settled in, I proceeded to snap a few pictures of the pre-parade anticipation.......

Lily wasn't in a very cooperative mood so I had to catch her unsuspecting......

Now, what you don't see in these above photos is a Native American man in wheelchair who was parked right next to our base camp. While we were waiting for the parade to begin, he greeted us and shook Jason's hand. He then either asked Jason if a. he could bum a smoke or b. offered to sell him a smoke out of his box of "slightly used" butts (we weren't exactly sure what he said). After some serious consideration, Jason declined the very generous offer. As I was snapping my pictures, our new friend asked "Hey, could I get in on that picture?" and wheeled himself up behind the girls. Everyone exclaimed "Cheese!" and the moment was captured.....

Finally, the parade began. Here is a shot of the throngs of people who came out.......

And a shot of the kilted bagpipers. Do they wear undies or don't they? One of the big mysteries of the day.....

Anyway, the parade was a lot of fun but it was just the beginning of the St. Patrick's Day excitement. Saturday we were blissfully unaware of the mischevious plans the leprechauns had in store for us. This morning I was awakened by two slightly frantic, thoroughly confused little girls. Grace and Ella informed me we were victims of a vicious ransacking apparently at the hands of leprechauns. Grace's room, Ella's room and the basement living room were left in shambles......

The toilet water had been turned green......

And even the milk was not spared......

The leprechauns weren't all bad though. They left the girls each some golden wrapped chocolates (which Lily has decided is the perfect breakfast choice). Grace and Ella went off to school brimming with stories to relay to their classes and Lily is still reeling. Here is her eyewitness account......

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A Whole Lotta Nothin'.......

"You ain't saying much, Dirty Steve."~Charlie

"That's because he ain't got much to say, Charlie"~William H. Bonney

A line from one of my favorite all time movies, Young Guns, and I couldn't have said it better myself. I haven't posted anything in almost two weeks for two reasons:

1. I think I almost wore out my welcome by posting three times in two days.

2. I didn't have much to say.

We have been pretty boring around the Kolb compound, just how I like it! But I suppose I should post about our plain old, run of the mill going on's just as I post about our excitement filled, edge of your seat times like cookie baking and scissors learning so here is a quick look at what we have been up to lately.

Last Thursday we actually had a pretty busy day, now that I think about it. Lily and I met up with Patrice and Emily to enjoy the "Mr. Twister~Balloon Guy" show at the library. Following the show, we had a quick lunch at McDonald's then on to the school to help out in Ella's classroom. I think the kids consider Lily the class mascot and Mrs. Costello even put her to work this time around. At 2PM, we had to punch out and get to the gym to watch Grace's music program, "Go Fish". It was a lot of fun, Grace sang like an angel and Lily and I were so proud! Ella had taken in the 8:45AM performance with her class and Jason flew solo for the 7PM performance. Ella had said if it was really, really good she would be Jason's date for the evening. When it was time for Jason to go, Ella decided that "It was pretty good but I got REALLY tired so I think I will just stay home." I wasn't surprised with this decision as there is pretty much almost no where Ella would rather be than home. This musical event will be airing on the local school cable channel and I will be sure to get you all the information when I have it so you can see Grace in action, if you so choose.

Saturday we watched three of Maria's kids, Hannah, Grant and Gabe. The kids all had a fabulous time down in the basement, doing whatever it is that kids do. I heard house playing, Jonas Brothers CD on repeat and lots of giggling. We basically only saw them when it was time to eat. I am eternally grateful Maria only brought Teeny the Goat in for a brief visit and not as part of the babysitting package! I will admit Teeny was pretty cute but I think we have established by now I am not much of an animal person, especially a farm animal person!

We enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Olive Garden on Sunday after Mass with Jason's parents and the Berens' family. The girls thought it was super sweet and ultra fancy. I do believe it just may have been the best macaroni and cheese Ella has had the pleasure of consuming and she is quite a macaroni connoisseur so that is high praise indeed.

Poor old Grace was slapped right across the face with the cold, hard unfairness of life at school on Tuesday. She was quietly working on her math during indoor recess while two classmates were trying to take away another classmate's book. The supervising teacher happened to stroll in at that moment and apprehended the culprits. However, Grace was rounded up as an offending party as well because she was in the vicinity of the uproar. Although Grace claims "I didn't even do anything" (famous last words, I know) and various other classmates proclaimed her innocence as well, the teacher decided Grace was to be punished along with the other three because "You should have tried to stop it." The punishment was having to stay inside during the first recess on Wednesday. Grace was relaying this story to me on the way home from school on Tuesday afternoon and was rather upset by the whole turn of events. Ella quietly listened and when Grace was done talking said, "Well, that just isn't fair, Grace. That teacher sounds mean. Besides, who cares if you can't go outside tomorrow for recess. It's going to be cold out anyway." Leave it to Ella to break it down in the most practical way! Grace agreed with Ella and was happy to have an empathetic ear. I am glad to say, Grace took her punishment like a big girl and the issue is now firmly behind us.

Wednesday morning I had just come to the end of my hair styling rope and made an emergency call to my salon. I made a spontaneous decision to have my hair cut that afternoon and there was no turning back once I plopped down into Char's chair. The decision was made to do a fairly routine cut but to spice things up a bit, add full bangs. Ta da!!!!

No, folks, do not adjust your screens, that is not Jessica Alba. It is me! I have not yet fully embraced my new look but over the past 24 hours, it has slowly grown on me.

The girls and I began our annual quest to find proper Easter attire. This is never an easy task and I do believe based on this week's results, it is a task that will only get more and more difficult as the girls get older. Grace and Ella could not have more different tastes in pretty much everything and to get them to agree on anything is virtually impossible. After lots of perusing, many "YUCKS" and "No way's" I do believe we have reached a consensus we could all be OK with. Stay tuned for the great unveiling. It is sure to be a real humdinger! We were so worn out from our shopping, the decision was made to take advantage of the "Kids Are Kings on Wednesday nights at Champps" extravaganza. Kids eat free, Mr. Twister is on hand creating any balloon creature you could possibly imagine and there are drawings for prizes. Unfortunately, none of our girls won a prize but they all took home a cool balloon animal and a big smile!

(Lily was in the midst of a fit when this photo was taken but she is the proud owner of the yellow giraffe.)

Wednesday night I took another baby step towards becoming a real live adult who interacts with people other than close friends and family members. I was invited to join a committee at Grace and Ella's school and I forced myself to accept the invitation. Our first meeting was last night at the committee leader's home and I did it! I went (all by myself), made appropriate conversation with three woman who I just barely know and came home in one piece. I dare say I even enjoyed myself a little. Please hold your applause. I am pretty amazing, I know!

Thursday morning, Lily and I hit the library for the "Big Bad Wolf" puppet show.

It was a full house and a pretty good time. She had to stick around afterwards so she could say goodbye to Little Red Riding Hood and the Wood Chopper! Following the puppet show, we had to make a quick stop at the best store in the world....Target.

I will freely admit Lily and I have spent altogether too much time at Target in the past couple of days. We were there twice yesterday and once today. We were able to get in and out both times yesterday with not a single dollar dropped into the cash drawer. However, today was another story and my checkbook did not escape unscathed. (Hope you are happy, Joshy!) The deals on the Easter candy were just too good to resist so we stocked up in anticipation of our annual Easter egg hunt. Now, let's all just cross our fingers the weather cooperates!

This week has seemed unusually long to me and Friday cannot come soon enough. Ella is in the midst of a social event dilemma. A friend of hers had a birthday party planned for last weekend but came down with the flu and had to reschedule for this Saturday. However, the St. Patrick's Day parade is scheduled for this Saturday as well. I informed Ella of this double booking quagmire and she is really torn. I am leaving the final decision up to her and you can almost see the wheels turning in that cute little head of hers as she weighs the pros and cons of each. This morning she was leaning towards going to the parade but my guess is, these plans will change many times between now and 1PM on Saturday.

One event I can very safely say that will take place this weekend is some grilling. Jason finally made the big leap and purchased his grill. He loves this grill as much as it is possible to love an inanimate object. Yesterday he purchased a smoking box and hickory wood chips and is chomping at the bit to lay a big old slab of beef brisket on there and smoke the heck out of it. Personally, I am a little bit over grilled food at this point but who am I to take that big smile off of his face so I say, "Smoke on, Big Swede, smoke on!

Here's to a weekend filled with fun times and sunshine!