AAAaargggHHhhhh!!!

I can not tell you how angry I am right now... its bad... very bad. So last week my sister in law Paula and I rented out a photography studio here in Green Bay. We decided to give it a try seeing it has gotten so difficult to do pictures at Target with the girls. Not only to get them to behave but to set an appointment time when they we are able to have Kyra from Jade and Tim is off of work for the day and I am not working the weekend... sheesh life is getting busy. So I was perusing craigslist (one of of my favorite things to do) and I saw an add for studio time rental. It turns out you just bring in your own camera and they will let you use their backgrounds and props and you just pay the hourly fee of 20.00 Not bad at all. Paula and I reserved 2 hours for our girls and split it down the middle and gave it a try last week. The little girls were pretty tired (we started at 7pm) but they did their best and we actually got some pretty great shots... that was until my camera (new mind you) decided that it was not going to let me have them... and by this I mean days later, my memory card says they are not available- that the file is corrupt. NOOOOOOO... I cried and cried in the shower today before work :( So all that time and all that work for nothing- they are gone never to be retrieved. I have come to find out that with these new fancy cameras you need to format your memory card before you use it- whoops! I never knew that... I just assumed you could use it and then just pop it in your computer like I have always done. I guess that book I bought ( The D3100 Nikon for Dummies... i know) was something I was actually supposed to read. I feel like a total idiot right now. So now a few hours later my tears have dried and the wounds are starting to heal. I am feeling totally re-energized and using this as my opportunity to get even better shots. I called the studio and he can sneak me in tomorrow afternoon and Jade said that I could steal Kyra for a few hours too... this may end up being an okay deal. We shall see... The first thing I am doing in the morning (after I get up from working overnight) is to call the local camera shop and make sure I am not compounding the problem (by being stupid) and clarify that the pictures are truly unretrievable- that would be totally horrible if I was just an idiot and then erased all the pictures and started over needlessly. I would seriously throw up everywhere... I just need to breathe..... and breathe...... and breathe. Its all going to be okay... they are just pictures right? ( I will keep reminding myself of this even though you know darn well pictures are up there in the list of necessities for me neck in neck with oxygen and food... argh)

Unkie Jackie

Yesterday my bestest buddy Jackie came over to visit with us for a while before Bella’s Birthday party. She was home from Chicago for Thanksgiving with her family so it was great to spend some time together! It’s crazy because I get to see her so rarely but it’s always special when we get together… and this was no exception. The girls totally bombarded her as soon as she walked in the door. The two little ones were only able to stay up for a little bit because they had to go down for their afternoon naps… but they made their short time with her count. Over the course of the last 24 hours or so we have been trying to wrap up Thanksgiving and move onto birthday number three. So Tim had baked her cakes for the party last night before Black Friday shopping and then headed to work this morning for 630am which left me to frost and decorate them both… and boy did we ever. Kyra and I were super tired from our messed up sleep schedule the night before and Jackie is always up for something fun… So when all these factors came together poor Bella’s Bday cake took the brunt of our goofiness. I must say that originally I tried very hard to frost that cake… but I am just bad at it. So it ended up looking like a red hot bowling ball and then someone said it looked like a head and it was all downhill from there. Some how we thought was a good idea to use her little tiara for a crown and the left over Halloween candy for her eyes, mouth, nose and hair. It was SOOOOO much fun but when we tried to get those little frosty bead thingies to stick onto the cake, gravity was totally working against us. I have a feeling I will be finding those sugar bead for days. When Bella woke up she didn’t really know what to make of her cake. She kind of looked at it from the side and was little skittish so as not to get to close in case it came to life- hilarious I tell you… never a dull moment. I was super excited when Jackie invited me down to stay this summer for a long weekend by her. There is so much to see in Chicago and I have never really been able to spend much time there… totally looking forward to it. Windy city here I come!!!

Weeeeee I am 3 !

(deep sigh) My baby just turned three- unbelievable I tell you. I always heard these ladies in the stores that would say “oh where does the time go… they grow up so fast” and I always thought they were totally pathetic – but now I get it – and I apologize to those ladies that I rolled my eyes at... because they were totally right! Kaitynn Bella Bronander turned three years old today and she totally amazes me. I didn’t know I could love someone I had never met before more than anyone in my entire life... until I delivered this precious little one exactly three years ago. Since then she has grown by leaps and bounds and our relationship is ever evolving. I try to keep up with her and she tries to discover as much as possible which makes for a pretty interesting dynamic…. Although I would have it no other way. Today the Bronander side of the family and my mother popped over to celebrate this precious child with some cake, ice cream and of course her favorite part- PRESENTS!!! She is just starting to understand the whole concept of gifts and special occasions and keeps asking me “does that come with presents?” (Its adorable) Today her favorite gifts were a set of dress up clothes from Uncle Jeremy, a baby from nana and papa, a set of twin puppies from Auntie Paula and Uncle Andy, learning activity toys from Karla and of course clothes from her father and I (boring I know). Oh and I almost forgot! Nana got her a pink pop up tent that she climbed into right away and has yet to come out of… she even brought in all her little toys and a blanket so who knows how long this will last. She has a little window in the back to watch TV through so as far as I can tell she is camping out in our living room until bedtime… maybe then I can sneak it out- ha!<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE

so much to be thankful for...

Today is thanksgiving and what a great day... with so much I am thankful for. AS many of you know, for the past, well forever, I have spent Thanksgiving with my family from the Sparta area at my grandmother's. Except when Bella was born and the one time in my early 20s I have been with the Herrman side for the special "turkey" day. This year however, I had to work until 11pm on Wednesday and wasn't able to make the drive over. So I resigned myself to the fact that Thanksgiving was going to be in green bay this year and I was lucky enough to be hosting it as well. I was nervous up until this day and Timmy wasn't sure why. I explained that it was a pretty big deal to orchestrate this and I was just trying to make sure it didn't mess up our first thanksgiving... so he turns to me and says... "This isn't the first thanksgiving at our house... We have had it at our place for a few years now." REALLY!!! This was total news to me and frankly I was a little upset that he was having the holiday at my house while I was away with our girls. At any rate I got over it quickly especially as I watched him in action in his "domain." Because the boy really can cook and pretty quickly too :) So after I got over being pouty and started to clean the guests started to show up. Kyra spent the day with her mom and new stepfather and stepbrothers. We had the girls, Tim's parents, his brother Jeremy, his aunt Karla and my mother. I would have certainly invited my dad but he was busy hunting elk with AJ out in Arizona (lucky duck). So the day went well and our bellies were full. The girls got to nap in their own beds which was nice and I enjoyed going through Via's clothes for Christmas while "us girls" hung out in the kitchen. I cant tell you how good a grilled turkey is- definitely worth the try!

They Just Keep Falling

Well these leaves just wont stop falling... But I must say it is super fun to watch the girls make piles so that they can jump in them. Bella even pitched in this year and used her rake to build a pile. Tim and I are finally getting the process down pretty well and it only took about 8 truckfulls to get the yard looking good. Lucky for us we were able to space it out over a few weekends and the whether cooperated pretty well. I was so glad to have the new "old" truck back. I cant imagine trying to do this with the tiny little trailer we had. Both girls got to jump in the leaves in the back of the truck too trying to get them to "stop down." You should have heard the giggles that came from them and then all of a sudden Kaitlynn says "pooooop.... Spunky poooooped." It was a dirty leaf but she totally freaked out- it was hilarious :)

Kyra's Musical Debut...

I have had an epiphany... and I am so glad to share it! My Kyra Jean (really Kyra Winters) is a truly wonderful child. I guess I got so caught up in the "trying to be a good mom" and "teach her valuable lessons" I lost myself in the need for control. What I have just realized is that I don't have control... as the step mom I literally have no control in what she does. But what I have realized... and its pretty awesome- is that I can show her all the great things in life and to help her identify what great opportunities there are for her. I can be a person that she can always go to that will never judge her and loves her no matter what. My little buddy who before she could actually talk would just smile at me with her arms in the air letting me know she wanted me... me. So, after some long and trying months (years probably) I am excited to announce that me and my Kyra dollie are opening a new chapter in our lives together. I am looking forward to guiding her through the next years in her life... I remember they are pretty trying and its going to be an amazing adventure. I got lost in our relationship with balancing too much... and I think I have found my way back to standing next to her again... not over her :) In other news... Kyra was involved in the musical this year at her middle school. I guess it is a pretty big deal for 6th graders to be part of it and to have a singing role taboot! It took alot of her time after school this fall but it was totally worth it she said... "I am a hot box girl now." She was stoked to try something other than sports (although she is still giving those a shot too) and she has fallen in love with singing and preforming. The other day she asked me if I would buy one of her albums when she is famous. I explained to her that although it is great to have goals... she should probably have a "fallback" option... and yes of course I will buy her album (although I think family should get a discount of something). And she told me that when she is not on tour (super cute) she likes to write so maybe she will be a journalist or something.... adorable I tell you! Her father has informed her that there is no degree in college to be a "superstar" so she will have to start thinking about what else she is interested in... all she said was- definitely nothing to do with math- YUCK... have I mentioned how much I love this girl! She needs to smile more though on stage. She explained to me that she was concentrating during the show but it just looked like she was constipated... nervous or not I told her she needs to smile at least a little... so she is going to try :) Kyra had so much fun with her "guys and dolls" experience that she has tried out for the show choir as well---- and she got in! I knew with a little confidence she could do great things- nurture versus nature here people. Next on her list... a padded bra :)

What a Haul...

In the end the girls and I went trick or treating four times in four days and made a serious haul. I had to take a picture to show the massive amount of candy that we will be snacking on until about Easter time... But all the good stuff is already gone ;) I wish you could get a better idea of just how much there is but I had a hard time getting the right angle. And this is without what AJ and Anna got or the huge bag that I sent with Kyra to go to school with her for at her mom's. I must say that this is the most we have ever had from any other year... and think... its probably only going to grow from here- woo hoo!!!