Kristen Blog

You and me...well, we made it.  All the way to the weekend.    Hooray for you!    Hooray for me!    Hooray for Peter Pumpkinhead! (Why not?!...We found this gem at a grown-up birthday party we had the privilege of attending over the weekend.  So fun!  Keep your eye out below for the other gem I found there...the BEST little cola-alternative sugary pop to please the precious little hummingbird in me!) To be honest, I think I got by on the skin of my teeth this week...and speaking of Crash Test Dummies, I didn’t just halfway dream a few times of the future afternoons I’ll measure out in my pajamas with coffee spoons and T.S. Eliot.  (In fact, I am already kind of practicing that out on Sundays.  I call it Sabbath...my resting day.  Today has been a lovely, cozy, rainy one.  I spent it making a stromboli from scratch, homemade salsa, and a ready-to-cook lasagna and meatloaf for the week.  We now have a nice and easy homemade dinners into the sunset.  But I still considered it a &qu

I'm afraid I am going to end up hating Mrs. Alexander.  It’s a terrible thing, but I think it is an inevitable thing.  I mean...just imagine facing, every day, the woman who stole from you the love of your life.  What do YOU feel, my friend?  Hate.  Am I right? It is sooooo unfortunate, because, as Evan says...Mrs. Alexander IS pretty.  I like her hair, too.  And I agree she is a “good girl.”  But that dog puppet Toto she pulled out at storytime the first day.  He REALLY stole the show... My baby literally cried the first night after school.  Like uncontrollable sobs.  He was so sad, so sad, because NEXT YEAR when he goes to first grade, he won't get to see Toto anymore.  (Great!  He got my deep, thoughtful, emotional heart.  Son, you have lots of happy days before that.  Don't think so much.)  Which left me thinking...Mrs. Alexander...well...Mrs. Alexander has become pretty important in my little guys eyes...her and her little dog, too.  And the inevitable truth remain

Twenty years!  Twenty stinking, pretty awesome, some horrendous, years, my homies.  I mean...between you and me...I was initially surprised he had kept my interest for 3 months.  Just sayin'...I kind of have a notoriously short attention span. And I mean to tell you..this guy has earned ALL of those 20 years.  He has held tight with his passionate, angry Irishman, loyal-and-I-demand-your-loyalty passion through some very tough (word I'm not allowed to say out loud, let alone refer to on my blog). But...speaking of weddings.  Oh my goodness...were you NOT there?!!  Because ALL of my homies deserve a very personal invitation to my wedding...I mean, the biggest day of my life, right?!!  And even if you WERE there, I'm sure you would like to relive that special moment, for sure.  (Actually, if you are really close, you will appreciate the visual of the many, many ones we have lost since August 14, 1999.  💕) So, here is your very personal, very private-link-only, invitati

I keep calling it "the weekend," when, in all honesty it was the middle of the week.  And it WAS a work trip.  However, when you are the mother of four kids 17, 14, 10 and 5, a work trip tends to be a LOT less demanding than what you've got waiting for you at home.  😱  Just sayin'. I mean...there was the awkwardness of having to get up early and drive 2 hours to be in Columbia by 9 am.  (Nine am alone is early for me.  Why else did you think I homeschooled for 12 years?  I am not cut out for functioning with normal society.  It took me a LONG time to adjust back. #weirdo 😉)  Painful.  And THAT one was optional.  But I am SOOOO glad I did it, because it was a special training where I learned to defend myself in unsafe situations (and in all the professions I choose, that tends to be a possibility)...and calm an escalating situation with careful, safe defensive holds.  And to be honest, the skills I learned were invaluable, but the fact that I got to be so active

Well...our last day in Yellowstone wasn't really even in Yellowstone at all.  We decided to spend the day with minimal driving, since we would embark on another long drive the next day.  We also wanted to play it rather low key, since we had worn ourselves out with touristy things the day prior.  And I officially decided I could NOT leave the Yellowstone area without having at least attempted to put a line in a river somewhere.  So...we focused on a little area in the Grand Tetons, which was close, visited a lodge to buy some permits and a little fishing rod, and we headed to Jackson Lake Dam for a little outdoor fun and fishing. Since we only had one fishing pole, we had to take turns casting out and reeling in (and that's about ALL we did as far as "fishing" is concerned at Jackson Lake Dam...cause we caught all of about NOTHING!).   There was plenty to entertain us while we waited turns to not catch fish, though...  Besides playing in the rocks and gorgeo

Yellowstone Day 2 West Thumb Geyser We quickly discovered that driving into Yellowstone was an adventure in itself.  Since we stayed in Moran, just outside of the Grand Tetons, we had an extra drive just getting to Yellowstone.  Once in the park, there are a number of factors that can lengthen the amount of time you spend in the car, namely, traffic and construction.  The road is pretty simple, and it is easy to get caught behind a chain of cars or a slow moving vehicle (unless YOU are that slow moving vehicle...but I am NOT referring AT ALL to my husband's overly cautious driving, so quit making assumptions...you KNOW what that does...).   While researching at home the first night, I found that the main features are centered on one main loop.  Once you drive into the park, you can follow this loop and get a quick overview of everything there is to see.  We packed up the car with food, snacks, drinks, and other supplies (extra layers, sunscreen, bug spray, hats, s