Maybe not such a bad thing

I broke my camera yesterday. 

I was taking pictures at the pool when I dropped the stupid thing on the pool deck.  I’m not chalking this up as a loss because I have absolutely HATED my camera for the last few months.  I would use my camera a few times and then the low battery light would inevitably start flashing and the thing would die.  Just yesterday, I put new batteries before we left for the pool.  I took maybe 10 pictures before it started telling me that I was low on power and then I took (maybe)  three more pictures before the damn thing died.  The only way to get it going again was to take the batteries out and then put them in again.  And then the process would start all over.

If you have a camera that you LOVE, please leave me a comment.  Ali and Sonya, I expect to hear from you because your pictures are always amazing.

Password

I had to change the password on the previous post.  For some reason it just wasn’t working.  It’s now just the number that was in the previous password.  If I’ve thoroughly confused you (or if you just want to know what the heck this is all about), just leave me a comment here and I’ll email it to you.

Help

Did any of you guys have or throw a great 30th birthday party?  Eric turns 30 on August 10th and I still can’t decide if I should have a big party for him.  Do I do it here or at a bar?  Or should we go on a mini-trip together (close but fun)?  Decisions, decisions.  I am so behind. 

Eric is sleeping now.  Before he wakes up, I’m going to make this a password protected post so he can’t see it.  The password is going to be “Eric’s 30th”.  Password changed to “30″.

I would love to hear any of your suggestions (themes, places, etc).

Wii games for kids?

Alright, what Wii games do you guys have that your kids love?  We have Wii Sports and Mario Kart.  Any others?  I’m looking for one for Kenny for his birthday.  He’ll be 5.

Memory verses and Ivan

I found this great workbook for kids that deals with learning Bible verses.

There are 43 activities.  Each activity includes a short verse, an explanation, a Bible passage to read that pertains to the quote and a project to do. 

For example, the first activity dealt with creation.  The verse Kenny learned was “on the 7th day (God) rested.”  After Kenny memorized that, we read the story of creation in the Bible and we talked about how everyone needs to rest.  The activity for that one was basically making a creation clock.  The clock was divided into the 7 days and each day showed what God did on that day.  Kenny colored and cut it out and then taped it onto a paper plate (we were out of glue).  To finish it off, we added the clock hand with a fastener.  It turned out really cute and Kenny had a great time.  We’ve done 4 of them so far and they’re still a hit.  And even better, Kenny has learned a lot.

The activity book is called Teaching Children Memory Verses by Rainbow Productions.  If interested, I found it here in KC at Mardel (Rosana Square – 119th and Metcalf).

I also found a Come and See series on-line.  Has anyone used these before or heard anything about them?

In other church-ie (yes, I’m making up words now) news, we had a priest yesterday who, during his homily, talked about sponsoring a child or older adult through the organization CFCA.  There were pictures and info on all those who were in need of sponsorship in the lobby for us to look at.  We decided to do it.  We’re now the proud sponsors of 5 year old Ivan from Colombia.

Love4Kori

I received this email from one of the women in my church group.  If you can help, please do:

My good friend Kori had something horrible happen last fall. Her daughter passed away after living 1 month at Children’s Mercy. The day of the funeral, just before burying her, Kori suffered a massive heart attack. She is only 34 and had no signs of any heart problems in her life. That day she died several times and they revived her. For the past 7 months, she has been on a special device that allows her to live until she gets a heart transplant. Her husband and 3 yr old daughter live here in KS while she lives in Salt Lake City waiting for a heart to arrive– the only hospital that would do her rare type of transplant.

While she has insurance, it only covers a certain percent and her medical bills are piling up.

We’re doing several fundraisers to help her.

Grab a friend or take your family out for a treat this Sunday, April 26th. Smoothie King, located at 135th and Metcalf (Overland Park, KS) will give 30% of their profits to the Kori Karstetter-Bigge Medical Fund if you mention “Love4Kori” between 11 AM-3PM.
Where: Smoothie King (135th and Metcalf location, Overland Park, KS)
When: Sunday, April 26th, 11 A.M.- 3 P.M.
Why: 30% of proceeds donated to Kori’s Medical Fund
Buzz Phrase: Make sure to mention “Love4Kori”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY COUSIN’S SON DREW AND MY UNCLE BOB!

Keep an eye out

Luke loves police cars.  He has 2 pairs of pajamas with police cars on them and he cries when we change him out of them.  I’m looking for a shirt with a police car on it to give to him for his birthday.  If you’re out and about and you see one, would you let me know what store it’s at.  I’m looking for a 2T, long or short sleeved. 

If not, I’ll just find one on-line.

Thanks!

You be the judge

I’m doing a poll on here to settle a debate between Eric and myself. 

We were playing Trivia Pursuit tonight and Player A received this question:  What kind of tails do New World monkeys have that Old World monkeys don’t?

Player A’s answer:  Their tails curl. 

Player B said that the answer was wrong and that the correct answer was:  Prehensile (which means:  Adapted for seizing, grasping, or holding, especially by wrapping around an object: a monkey’s prehensile tail.)

We went around and around on this one so now we’re asking for your opinion. 

Anyone?

I’m thinking of getting Luke some type of kitchen play set for Christmas.  There are a few of them that I’m looking at.  If any of you have these, would you please let me know how you like them (I realize that I may not get any replies).  My only requirements are that they don’t take up a lot of space and I want to spend less than $100.  Here’s what I’m thinking of…

Choice #1:  Elmo’s Restaurant                                   

I like this one b/c it’s not so girlie looking.  Also, I like that it has the classic kitchen features plus a cash register.  Luke would love it now but he might like a regular kitchen when he gets a little older.  I read one review on it and it wasn’t a very good one.  Price-wise, it’s at the top of what I want to spend.

Choice #2:   LifeStyle Custom Kitchen                          

Very cute.  Price-wise, at the top of what I want to spend.  The reviews that I found gave it 4 out of 5 stars.  Eric might think it’s a little too girlie. 

Choice #3:  Little Tikes Cook and Learn Kitchen                 

Very cute.  Price is great.  It’s definitely not girlie looking.  I like that it doesn’t take up a lot of space but at the same time, it looks smaller than the rest.  It received 3.5 stars out of 5. 

As of right now, I’m leaning towards #3 but I would love any and all feedback.

Booster car seat help, please

Eric is FINALLY off the midnight shift.  You cannot imagine how happy I am.  He’s now on a regular shift for the next few months.  I hate the midnight shift.  I don’t even mind him being gone at night, I hate him sleeping during the day when we’re home.  I feel like we have to either be really quiet or leave. 

Now, I have a question for anyone who has an older child:

What kind of booster car seat do you have?  I went to Babies R Us today, thinking that I knew what I wanted.  Then I talked to an employee and she kind of threw me for a loop.  I ended up buying 2 boosters, one for my Jeep (which has a latch system) that is a high back, latch system booster seat that will eventually turn into one of those short seats and then just a high backed booster seat for Eric’s Buick (his car does not have the latch system). 

Here’s my question:  Did you buy a high backed booster seat or one of those short ones?  Do you start out with a high backed booster and then buy a short one when they get older or do they just stay in the high backed one the whole time?   

If you have any experience with older kids, please let me know.  I’m probably thinking about this way too much but all of my friends have kids Kenny’s age or younger so this is new to all of us.   

*I’m writing this post during the KU championship game.  I needed something to do b/c this game is just way too close for comfort.  Please let my next post be a good one.*